In My Weakness

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 ESV

“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Earlier this morning I wrote a devotion titled, “How We Tend to Measure Success,” which was spawned by a discussion I was having with people on a Facebook group which was the alumni from my high school. We were talking about what influence our time in high school had on our lives and on our life choices and on our career choices. Several of us mentioned that we had learning disabilities, two of us in the area of reading comprehension, but those without disabilities may not be able to get that. And I understand.

So, my mind was thinking about that and how, in school, we were all graded on the same level, regardless of disabilities or incoordination, etc. For example, my gym teacher had us girls doing the same things the boys were doing, including jumping hurdles. And I did try to jump the hurdle only to have my foot and leg caught in the hurdle which threw me to the floor and ended up in a bloody mess. But even though I tried, I flunked, because I couldn’t jump the hurdle. And I never could do pullups, but I tried.

As I mentioned in my previous writing, all throughout my years of school I had a reading disability, i.e. I had very low reading comprehension, which got me put back in second grade after being in third grade for a month, and which kept me getting low grades in any classes involving the ability to read and to understand what I read. But no one back then identified the problem nor reached out to try to help me with my disability. And so this issue continued on a good part of my life. I still struggle with it somewhat.

And while all this was floating through my mind the Lord led me to this passage in 2 Corinthians 12. The Apostle Paul was given a “thorn in the flesh” to keep him humble, and to keep him from becoming conceited because of all the great revelations the Lord was giving to him. So, who gave him this “thorn in the flesh,” this “messenger of Satan to harass” him? God did! Who else? Who else would want Paul to not be conceited and to be humble? And who else had the power to do this?

And then that took me in my mind to the learning disability that I had and that I still have to some extent. And then think with me about Psalms 139 where we learn that God/Christ knit us together in the wombs of our mothers, and that all the days ordained for us by God were written in his book before one of them came into being, and how we were wonderfully made by God. God is the one who created us. So he gave me that learning disability for a reason, and perhaps it was to humble me and so that I would have to depend on him for my understanding of what I read.

God’s Grace is Sufficient

Paul pleaded with the Lord three times that it would leave him. But God’s answer back to him was, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” But some people today are claiming that Paul’s weakness and his “thorn in the flesh” was a controlling sin in his life. But it wasn’t. For God is not the author of sin, so God would not give him a sinful addiction to keep him humble, for Jesus died to free us from our slavery to sin. And God would not refuse to deliver Paul from a besetting sin. See:

https://runwithit.blog/2023/05/13/was-paul-a-hypocrite-ii/ 

We don’t know, though, what Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was. Some people believe it was his blindness, but it could have been any sort of physical ailment or it could have been the opposition he faced to his teaching and those who hounded him continually. We don’t know for certain. But does God allow “thorns in the flesh” in our lives to keep us humble? I believe he does. I think my peripheral neuropathy in my right leg is one of those. For I must depend on a walker to keep from falling when I am out in public.

I believe the Lord has allowed many things in my life to keep me humble and to keep me dependent on him, and that is a good thing, although it can be painful, for sure. And his grace is sufficient for me. And he taught me in my 50’s that I could learn if I depended on him to help me to learn, not that I didn’t learn anything before then, but that is when I got over my fear that I couldn’t learn and I trusted the Lord to help me to learn and to understand things that I would never before in my life even attempted to learn.

And so we need to trust the Lord in these things, and rest in him, and rely on him to help us in our weaknesses when our brains or our eyes or our legs or any other parts of our bodies fail us, for I am experiencing much in all these areas right now, including my hearing is failing me, too. But then I am in my mid-seventies, so that is to be expected somewhat. And he will help us when we face insults and hardships and persecutions, too. He will give us the strength to endure it all if we will lean on him for our support.

Mighty in Power

An Original Work / June 17, 2019

Jesus, our Savior, reigneth forever;

Mighty in power, His name we honor.

He’s our refuge from all evil.

God our righteous, He’s our fill.

He satisfies us with all His blessings.

We magnify Him. Our praise to Him sing.

Glory and honor, praise to the Father,

Perfect in wisdom, He is our vision.

He delivered us from all sin

So, in Christ, we’d be forgiven.

He purifies us. His love will guide us.

He is beside us, holy and righteous.

Our Holy Spirit, comfort in sorrow,

Strength in our weakness, hope for tomorrow.

He gives courage to be bold in

Witnessing for Jesus Christ.

He teaches all things about our Savior.

New life in Jesus, we found His favor. 

https://vimeo.com/343126112