My Weaknesses and God's Power - Study 5/24/12
My Weaknesses and God’s Power
Webster dictionary has a couple of entries for the word “weak” and weakness being the state or quality of being weak: “Lacking physical strength, energy, or vigor; feeble. Liable to fail under pressure, stress or strain; Lacking resistance; Lacking firmness of character or strength of will etc”. We are not speaking about weakness as license to continue in personal sin. We are speaking about infirmities, weaknesses, disease, sickness or conditions where you lack the power to change the situation by your own strength and power.
There was a fifteen year span of my life when I had the “infertility weakness”. God allowed my wife and me to go through this period of feeling helpless and powerless. A period when we wished things to happen that did not happen. Only God got us thru this painful experience by his power, mercy and grace. I now have other weaknesses and I am trusting God as I cry out to Him.
Do you have a God-allowed weakness? Pastor Lon Solomon tells of her daughter. “Jill was born perfectly normal. At three months she started having seizures, and they got worse. Eventually she lost the ability to speak. She's probably had five thousand grand mals or more, and has serious brain injury. She's sixteen now (2008), and nonverbal…My daughter has taught me humility. She requires constant, permanent care. She's not fully potty trained...My daughter is amazingly happy. She doesn't know she's retarded, that she's disabled. She needs love…God has given Brenda and me the gift of serving Jill, who will be one year old forever. At first I despised this fate and viewed it as a curse. Now I know that it is a privilege”. (Read more: http://www.esquire.com/features/what-ive-learned/lon-solomon-quotes-0109#ixzz1vFZyApYg)
I can think of others such as Joni Eareckson Tada who had spinal injury from a swimming dive when she was a teen and has been wheel-chair bound as a quadriplegic. But not bound in the spirit and God has allowed her weakness to be turned into great good. She is a mouth artist, a radio host and international evangelist reaching the “disabled” and “able” all over the world.
Apostle Paul had his own weaknesses. While dragged into boasting to expose the false “super” apostles in Corinth, Paul talks about his weaknesses. “7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul like any of us, initially resent, resist, and reject the weakness that God has “given” us (implying maybe it is a “gift”?). I had my share of resentment but it is only okay for a while. We must move on to acceptance and let God work for the ultimate purpose of making us like His Son Jesus Christ.
There is one obvious temptation in a place of weakness and that is you attempt to change the situation and make it happen in your own power, time and desired outcome. Is your present weakness in your marriage or as a result of your marriage? Is it illness of self, children or loved one; death of a loved one; lack of finances, trouble at work, school, and neighborhood and etc? Could it be singleness God has allowed for now in your life?
Can we get to a point where we can say like Paul, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me”? Anything short of this is living an illusive self-sufficient life without God. We must trust and walk by Faith in God. “26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:26). God’s grace is only sufficient for those who see their own insufficiency. Are you self-sufficient?
2 Corinthians 12:1-10
I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3 And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4 was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell. 5 I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. 6 Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say.
7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Here are my observations in addition to the ones you may have:
1. Again, Apostle Paul reluctantly plays along with this foolish game of boasting forced on him by the actions of the so-called false “super apostles”. He tells the Corinthians what he had probably not told anyone else. Paul narrates his heavenly encounter. “And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4 was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell” vs.3. What a glorious wonderful experience. You and I would have written a New York Best-seller book on this experience. Not so for Paul. He is restrained from talking about it. In fact that is the point he is making. The false super apostles had capitalized on telling the Corinthians such stories to buttress their credentials and then took advantage of them.
2. We see clearly another sign of the false prophets – merchandising their so-called experiences with God. There used to be a “super” Evangelist who came from Africa to the United States. He will tell some wonderful stories of his exploits for God in Africa and would get the crowd so excited that that if you are in the audience you will give whatever you had on you. He would go further to ask that you pledge money if you did not have it on you. People like us who had the “infertility or other weaknesses” were taken advantage of (see 2 Cor. 11:19-21). Guess what, year after year all that people got were wonderful stories and none of the miracles he promised happened. He has not been showing up lately. I also heard he got into a fight with his local host pastor on how to split the “spoil” from the people.
3. Paul was restrained and constrained by God Himself. “7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me” vs.7. Be careful what you ask for. God will not share his glory. We have seen some of the “surpassing great revelations” as documented by Paul’s letters and Epistles in the New Testament (about 48% of NT written by Paul). God wanted to keep His word pure and not be diluted by man’s pride. Paul paid a high price for the trust God put in him – “a thorn in my flesh”. I do not have a clue of what it is and many scholars have speculated. Whatever it is, it was not so pleasurable and must have been painful either physically and emotionally.
4. It was obvious that Paul did not want the “thorn in the flesh” because it came with a “torment”. “8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”vs. 8-9. Paul pleaded three times with God to remove his thorn. The point being the finality of God’s will in Paul’s life on this matter. God said, “No.”. Most of us only want to hear “yes” from God all the time. A good Father has the right to say no sometimes. Can you allow God to do the same in your life?
5. The power of God in the person of the Holy Spirit actually rests upon us in our weaknesses. “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me”. You want God’s power but you don’t want his “allowed weaknesses”? There is nothing to apply God’s power on when there is no weakness. God backs off when you display your own strength and sufficiency. Our Father himself strengthens us as He did for Christ while He was on the Cross. The same power that raised Christ from the dead quickens us in our weaknesses as we cry out to our Father (Ephesians 1:18-20 and Romans 8:11).
Trusting God and having faith in God does not mean we do nothing otherwise it is no longer faith (faith without works is dead according Apostle James). It means acting only on steps ordered by God in the midst of the weakness. It results to seeking God to hear his heart on the matter and abandoning oneself to God’s will. Jesus taught us that. He was made weak for our sake, went to the Cross and died but the grave could not hold Him.
Where are you now in the stages of your weaknesses? Are you at denial and the resentment stage? May be it is time to leave this camp and move on to the acceptance stage. Once we accept our God-allowed weakness we are sure to see God’s power at work. God changes me and you to experience an indescribable peace in the midst of the storms of life. (Phil.4:4-7).
Can you stop talking to every Dick and Teri for solution and for a change and just seek God? There is time to seek people’s counsel and God will prompt you.
What are we boasting in? Is it our works of self-righteousness, perfect size 8 figures, perfect health, good bank account and jobs etc? We thank God for perfect health and finances when we have it. Do you have any weaknesses to boast about- something that will drive you on your knees to God? How about a prodigal son or daughter, friend or co-worker? Lord, may your power rest upon us and may your grace be sufficient for us in our weaknesses. Conform us into the likeness of your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.
Webster dictionary has a couple of entries for the word “weak” and weakness being the state or quality of being weak: “Lacking physical strength, energy, or vigor; feeble. Liable to fail under pressure, stress or strain; Lacking resistance; Lacking firmness of character or strength of will etc”. We are not speaking about weakness as license to continue in personal sin. We are speaking about infirmities, weaknesses, disease, sickness or conditions where you lack the power to change the situation by your own strength and power.
There was a fifteen year span of my life when I had the “infertility weakness”. God allowed my wife and me to go through this period of feeling helpless and powerless. A period when we wished things to happen that did not happen. Only God got us thru this painful experience by his power, mercy and grace. I now have other weaknesses and I am trusting God as I cry out to Him.
Do you have a God-allowed weakness? Pastor Lon Solomon tells of her daughter. “Jill was born perfectly normal. At three months she started having seizures, and they got worse. Eventually she lost the ability to speak. She's probably had five thousand grand mals or more, and has serious brain injury. She's sixteen now (2008), and nonverbal…My daughter has taught me humility. She requires constant, permanent care. She's not fully potty trained...My daughter is amazingly happy. She doesn't know she's retarded, that she's disabled. She needs love…God has given Brenda and me the gift of serving Jill, who will be one year old forever. At first I despised this fate and viewed it as a curse. Now I know that it is a privilege”. (Read more: http://www.esquire.com/features/what-ive-learned/lon-solomon-quotes-0109#ixzz1vFZyApYg)
I can think of others such as Joni Eareckson Tada who had spinal injury from a swimming dive when she was a teen and has been wheel-chair bound as a quadriplegic. But not bound in the spirit and God has allowed her weakness to be turned into great good. She is a mouth artist, a radio host and international evangelist reaching the “disabled” and “able” all over the world.
Apostle Paul had his own weaknesses. While dragged into boasting to expose the false “super” apostles in Corinth, Paul talks about his weaknesses. “7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul like any of us, initially resent, resist, and reject the weakness that God has “given” us (implying maybe it is a “gift”?). I had my share of resentment but it is only okay for a while. We must move on to acceptance and let God work for the ultimate purpose of making us like His Son Jesus Christ.
There is one obvious temptation in a place of weakness and that is you attempt to change the situation and make it happen in your own power, time and desired outcome. Is your present weakness in your marriage or as a result of your marriage? Is it illness of self, children or loved one; death of a loved one; lack of finances, trouble at work, school, and neighborhood and etc? Could it be singleness God has allowed for now in your life?
Can we get to a point where we can say like Paul, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me”? Anything short of this is living an illusive self-sufficient life without God. We must trust and walk by Faith in God. “26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:26). God’s grace is only sufficient for those who see their own insufficiency. Are you self-sufficient?
2 Corinthians 12:1-10
I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3 And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4 was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell. 5 I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. 6 Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say.
7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Here are my observations in addition to the ones you may have:
1. Again, Apostle Paul reluctantly plays along with this foolish game of boasting forced on him by the actions of the so-called false “super apostles”. He tells the Corinthians what he had probably not told anyone else. Paul narrates his heavenly encounter. “And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4 was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell” vs.3. What a glorious wonderful experience. You and I would have written a New York Best-seller book on this experience. Not so for Paul. He is restrained from talking about it. In fact that is the point he is making. The false super apostles had capitalized on telling the Corinthians such stories to buttress their credentials and then took advantage of them.
2. We see clearly another sign of the false prophets – merchandising their so-called experiences with God. There used to be a “super” Evangelist who came from Africa to the United States. He will tell some wonderful stories of his exploits for God in Africa and would get the crowd so excited that that if you are in the audience you will give whatever you had on you. He would go further to ask that you pledge money if you did not have it on you. People like us who had the “infertility or other weaknesses” were taken advantage of (see 2 Cor. 11:19-21). Guess what, year after year all that people got were wonderful stories and none of the miracles he promised happened. He has not been showing up lately. I also heard he got into a fight with his local host pastor on how to split the “spoil” from the people.
3. Paul was restrained and constrained by God Himself. “7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me” vs.7. Be careful what you ask for. God will not share his glory. We have seen some of the “surpassing great revelations” as documented by Paul’s letters and Epistles in the New Testament (about 48% of NT written by Paul). God wanted to keep His word pure and not be diluted by man’s pride. Paul paid a high price for the trust God put in him – “a thorn in my flesh”. I do not have a clue of what it is and many scholars have speculated. Whatever it is, it was not so pleasurable and must have been painful either physically and emotionally.
4. It was obvious that Paul did not want the “thorn in the flesh” because it came with a “torment”. “8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”vs. 8-9. Paul pleaded three times with God to remove his thorn. The point being the finality of God’s will in Paul’s life on this matter. God said, “No.”. Most of us only want to hear “yes” from God all the time. A good Father has the right to say no sometimes. Can you allow God to do the same in your life?
5. The power of God in the person of the Holy Spirit actually rests upon us in our weaknesses. “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me”. You want God’s power but you don’t want his “allowed weaknesses”? There is nothing to apply God’s power on when there is no weakness. God backs off when you display your own strength and sufficiency. Our Father himself strengthens us as He did for Christ while He was on the Cross. The same power that raised Christ from the dead quickens us in our weaknesses as we cry out to our Father (Ephesians 1:18-20 and Romans 8:11).
Trusting God and having faith in God does not mean we do nothing otherwise it is no longer faith (faith without works is dead according Apostle James). It means acting only on steps ordered by God in the midst of the weakness. It results to seeking God to hear his heart on the matter and abandoning oneself to God’s will. Jesus taught us that. He was made weak for our sake, went to the Cross and died but the grave could not hold Him.
Where are you now in the stages of your weaknesses? Are you at denial and the resentment stage? May be it is time to leave this camp and move on to the acceptance stage. Once we accept our God-allowed weakness we are sure to see God’s power at work. God changes me and you to experience an indescribable peace in the midst of the storms of life. (Phil.4:4-7).
Can you stop talking to every Dick and Teri for solution and for a change and just seek God? There is time to seek people’s counsel and God will prompt you.
What are we boasting in? Is it our works of self-righteousness, perfect size 8 figures, perfect health, good bank account and jobs etc? We thank God for perfect health and finances when we have it. Do you have any weaknesses to boast about- something that will drive you on your knees to God? How about a prodigal son or daughter, friend or co-worker? Lord, may your power rest upon us and may your grace be sufficient for us in our weaknesses. Conform us into the likeness of your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.
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