And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.
Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2 Corinthians 12:7-9 (NKJV)
As writing in the third person, Paul had just talked about the time when he was caught up into the third heaven and received, from the Lord, revelations and heard words what he was not permitted to share with anyone. Note: Have you ever been told a secret and sworn to secrecy? Did you want to tell someone so that you couldn’t stand it? I digress.
Because Paul had been so blessed, lest he should be exalted above measure, he was “given” a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet him.
My Grace is Enough
He related that he had pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from him but it was not, rather, he heard directly from the Lord words that you and I might hear at times in our lives; “No, my grace is enough.” That is not what we want to hear, right? We want to be totally, pain free! We want to have no sicknesses! We want no troubles in life! We never want to hear bad news! However, there are times when we are sick, when we do have pain, when troubles come our way, and when we do hear bad news. Even as believers.
We Need to Remember…
We often forget that we live in a fallen race, in a world that is still cursed. Thus, it is imperfect. We need to remember that we are not in heaven even though we are citizens of heaven. We also need to remember that we find ourselves in situations that are not of our making that we might learn that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is sufficient. And whatever is happening can, through the Holy Spirit, make us stronger. For His strength is made “perfect” in our weakness. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:8-10:
“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.”
Never forget that God is with you in your troubles and that He will never forsake you. God is with you—now!
