Good morning,
I
always feel uncomfortable around people who are bragging. I
automatically compare myself or my opinion with what they are saying and
then end up feeling inferior or superior to them. At that point my sin
nature encourages me to say something - not a good idea - or to stop
listening and caring about the speaker. I have always had great respect
for the Apostle Paul, but whenever I would read his second letter to
the Corinthians, I felt confused by his defense of his ministry to
them. I know that he had a lot of enemies and that these enemies were
doing their best to turn these new Christians away from the real truth
in Paul’s teaching, but why did he have to boast about all the hard
things he had faced? Was God upset with him as well, and is that why he
refused to heal him? Well, if God had been thinking like me, then that
is one possibility. My basic problem is, I have always had a poor
understanding of God’s grace and how that affected what God was doing
when he designed and carried out his plans for his kids. It’s easy for
us to forget that the Devil has a filter for everything that God is
doing that is designed to make God look like a mean master. A third of
the angels believed his lies and any person living today who is not part
of God’s family will see what is happening through this same filter.
What
Paul had discovered through the years of his faithful and fruitful
ministry was that everything that God built into his life had a
wonderful, eternal purpose. It’s true that Paul faced many overwhelming
challenges during his ministry, but what Paul also learned was that
each one of those events demonstrated the power of God’s grace to
protect, empower, and bless those who follow their Good Shepherd
wherever he leads them. After years of looking like a weak messenger
following a crucified leader, the people who trusted Paul and trusted
Jesus as their Savior and Lord were leading powerful and effective
lives. The Good Shepherd gave Paul story after story of God’s
faithfulness and grace in the face of overwhelming odds. When God shows
up in our ministries, the Holy Spirit of God does the impossible things
to make sure that his plan works out exactly as he has planned. What
Paul was writing was designed to remind us that when we actually
recognize our weakness, surrender ourselves to our Savior, and rely on
the Holy Spirit to do the work, we will demonstrate God’s grace and
power every time.
II Corinthians 12: 9 Each time he said,
“My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am
glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work
through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the
insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ.
For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Roy Wisner
