2 Coríntios 12
Charles Spurgeon · Citado em PreceptAustin
2 Coríntios 12
Spurgeon note). Paul equates the "third heaven with “Paradise” (“walled garden”) in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4. One can also compare Revelation 2:7 (note) with Revelation 22:14 (note). In Revelation 2:7 (note) John writes 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.' Again in Revelation 22:14 (note) John writes "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city." Paradise is synonymous with the abode of God, the third heaven. In the conclusion of his article entitled "The New Testament Concept Regarding the Regions of Heaven with Emphasis on 2 Corinthians 12:1-4 Grace Journal Volume 11, Winter, 1970" W. Harold Mare writes "As to the regions of heaven, we observe that the New and Old Testaments agree in conceiving of heaven as basically involving three different areas, the lower, the higher and highest heaven in the last of which God particularly dwells, and we conclude that Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:1-4 has this last area in mind when he talks about the third heaven, implying the two other regions by his use of the word, third. Furthermore, the third heaven where God dwells and where Paul received divine instruction is not to be thought of necessarily as involving a spiritual, non-spatial relationship only, but also as involving space, somewhere out there in the highest or third heaven, beyond our immediate earth and heaven, there being a place where a human being with a body and God who is everywhere can meet." In conclusion, it is worth noting that by virtue of the marvels of modern science, man has been able to visit the first heaven of the clouds (most of us have flown in this this first heaven) and a select few have even visited the the heaven of the planets, the second heaven (including some who have have walked upon the moon), but man is unable to go to the third heaven, the abode of God (using that term loosely since He is infinite and omnipresent!), without His assistance. Perhaps you are reading this article out of curiosity but you don't really know whether you will go to heaven when your life on earth is over. You lack the absolute assurance that God makes available to all freely by grace through faith (see Ephesians 2:8-10+) in His Son Jesus Christ. So let me ask you... Would you go to heaven if you died tonight? Do you want to go to heaven? Do you want to know the way? If you do, then take a few moments and read the two short pamphlets by the renowned 19th Century American evangelist Dwight Lyman Moody... The Way to God & How to Find It - D L Moody Heaven: Where It Is, Its Inhabitants and How To Get There - D L Moody My personal testimony - Bruce Hurt, MD QUESTION - What does it mean that Paul went to the third heaven? ANSWER - Paul describes a time when he was caught up to the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2–4). He mentions himself in the third person: “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. And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows—was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell.” The word heavens can be used to refer to different realms. Heavens can refer to the sky and the earth’s atmosphere, making it the “first heaven” (Deuteronomy 11:11; Psalm 104:12; Isaiah 55:10). It can also refer to outer space, where the stars and planets are—the “second heaven” (Psalm 8:3; Isaiah 13:10). And it can refer to God’s dwelling place, which is beyond the other “heavens,” a place known as the “third heaven” (Psalm 33:13–14; Isaiah 66:1; Matthew 6:9; Hebrews 7:26; Revelation 11:19). When Paul says that he went to the third heaven, he means that he went to the place where God dwells. Interestingly, Paul uses the phrase caught up to refer to how he was transported to heaven; it’s the same Greek word used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 to refer to the rapture of the church. Following his list of “boasts” in 2 Corinthians 11:22–33, Paul further verifies his apostolic office by including his “visions and revelations from the Lord” (2 Corinthians 12:1). The apostle is unsure whether he was physically in the body or apart from the body when he experienced heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2–3). While there, he heard and saw things that he couldn’t describe and was forbidden to relate (verse 4). Some believe this event occurred during Paul’s first missionary journey, when he was stoned and left for dead in Lystra, but we can’t be sure. The privilege of seeing heaven no doubt gave Paul courage to face his later trials and suffering (2 Corinthians 4:17). Christians today may have not seen the third heaven as Paul did, we can be just as confident of our future in heaven because we are in Christ. The Bible does not tell us everything we might like to know about heaven, but we know that it will be a wonderful place where we will dwell with Christ (John 14:3). Paul knew that being with Christ is far better than anything he could experience on earth (Philippians 1:21–23). Until the day we eternally enter God’s presence, we can state with confidence along with the apostle Paul, “For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:7–8).GotQuestions.org QUESTION - What does the Bible say about an out of body experience / astral projection? ANSWER - Information about the “out-of-body” experience is both vast and subjective. According to Wikipedia, one out of ten people claims to have had an out-of-body experience (OBE). Out-of-body experiences range from involuntary out-of-body experiences or near-death experiences that happen after or during a trauma or accident, to “astral projection,” in which a person voluntarily tries to leave his or her body behind and ascend to a spiritual plane where truth and clarity can be found. A few famous Christians have had what might be called, in today’s world, an out-of-body experience, most notably the apostle Paul. He says in 2 Corinthians 12:1–4, “I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 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. And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows—was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell.” In the verses preceding this passage, Paul lists his “boasts” or the things that, if he were counting on works and good deeds to secure his salvation, would get him into heaven. Though he seems to be referring to someone else, scholars agree that he is speaking of himself in the third person. Paul includes this apparent out-of-body experience in his list of boasts. Out-of-body experiences are sensational, but, as Paul says, “There is nothing to be gained by it.” This does not mean that his out-of-body experience wasn’t real, only that he is not relying on it to really benefit himself or others in any way. An involuntary out-of-body experience or a near-death experience should be treated in the same way as a dream in the life of a Christian—an unexplained phenomenon that may make a good story, but does not give us truth. The only place we find absolute truth is in the Word of God. All other sources are merely subjective human accounts or interpretations based on what we can discover with our finite minds. A voluntary out-of-body experience, or an “astral projection,” is spiritually dangerous. A person practicing astral projection or trying to achieve an out-of-body experience in order to connect with the spirit world is practicing the occult. There are two forms of this. The first is called the “phasing” model, in which the person tries to find new spiritual truth by accessing a part of the mind that is “shut off” during everyday life. This practice is connected to Buddhism or postmodernism and the belief that enlightenment is achieved by looking within oneself. The other form, called the “mystical” model, involves the person trying to exit the body entirely, with his or her spirit traveling to a mystical plane unconnected to the physical world. The Bible explicitly warns against occult practice, or sorcery, and that warning can be applied to voluntary out-of-body experiences and astral projection (see Galatians 5:19–20). God’s commands are always for our good, and He commands us to stay far away from occult practices. There is great potential, when trying to access the spiritual world, of opening oneself up to demons who can lie to us about God and confuse our minds. The phasing model of out-of-body experiences is also futile, according to Scripture. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it?” It is futile to search for infinite wisdom inside the finite mind of man. Involuntary out-of-body experiences have made their way into some recent books and movies. One example is the popular book 90 Minutes in Heaven by Pastor Don Piper. Piper describes what is, in essence, an out-of-body experience he had after a severe car accident, during which he believes he died and went to heaven for ninety minutes. Whether or not Piper did actually see heaven or spend time there is debatable, and in the end nobody but God knows. However, there is a serious problem, theologically speaking, with the conclusion Piper draws from his experience. He tells the reader that, now that he has been to heaven, he can speak comfort to grieving people at funerals “with more authority” than he could previously. Piper’s motives are good: he wants to give people hope. However, it is dead wrong to say that his own subjective experience will give him more authority to administer the hope of heaven to others. Scripture, by itself, apart from our experience, is the authority. In conclusion, an out-of-body experience will give us neither truth nor knowledge. If an involuntary out-of-body experience occurs in the life of a Christian, the best approach would be to consider it in the same category as a dream—interesting, perhaps, but not a reliable source of truth. Christians should not seek to have out-of-body experiences or practice astral projection. We are to find truth only in the words of God, as Jesus prays in John 17:17, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”GotQuestions.org Related Resources: What is the second heaven? | GotQuestions.org Is the idea of seven heavens / the seventh heaven biblical? | GotQuestions.org What is Heaven like? | GotQuestions.org What is paradise? Is paradise a different place than Heaven? | GotQuestions.org Where is heaven? What is the location of heaven? | GotQuestions.org Are there different levels of Heaven? Are there three heavens? | GotQuestions.org Does the Bible say anything about teleportation? | GotQuestions.org 2 Corinthians 12:3 And I know how such a man--whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows-- Plummer- I can tell you also that this man of whom I speak, either in the body or apart from the body (God knows which), 2 Corinthians 12 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries SOUL IN BODY OR OUT OF BODY? And I know (eido) how such a man - Know is the verb eido which describes knowledge which is beyond a shadow of doubt. Paul continues talking about this man (himself) as he explains how he was caught up to the third heaven. Whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows - NLT = "Whether my body was there or just my spirit, I don't know; only God knows." Paul repeats that even he did not know the nature of how he was caught up, whether physically (body and soul) or spiritually (cf out of body), but only God knew the truth that it was an actual event. His repetition of the verb know/knows emphasizes that he believed this was not a fantasy of his imagination but was a real event. With the second "knows" Paul alludes to God as his Witness of the veracity of this "outer space trip." 2 Corinthians 12:4 was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak. Plummer- was caught up into the Paradise where God dwells, and there listened to utterances unutterable, such as no human being is allowed to repeat. paradise: Eze 31:9 Lu 23:43 Rev 2:7 2 Corinthians 12 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passages: Luke 23:43 And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” Revelation 2:7 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’ PAUL PASSING INTO PARADISE Was caught up into Paradise - Paul continues his description of the vision and revelation, repeating the fact that he was actually caught up. Initially he had stated he was caught up to the third heaven and now refers to it as Paradise. There is no reason from the context to not see these two terms as synonymous. David
2 Coríntios 12
Spurgeon - Great tribulation brings out the great strength of God. If you never feel inward conflicts and sinking of soul, you do not know much of the upholding power of God; but if you go down, down, into the depths of soul-anguish till the deep threatens to shut her mouth upon you, and then the Lord rides upon a cherub and does fly, yea, rides upon the wings of the wind and delivers your soul, and catches you away to the third heaven of delight, then you perceive the majesty of divine grace. Oh, there must be the weakness of man, felt, recognized, and mourned over, or else the strength of the Son of God will never be perfected in us.” Adrian Rogers says the best definition of grace that he has ever heard is that God's grace is "both the desire and the ability to do the will of God." It is striking that almost the same words occur in Php 2:13NLT+ "For (term of explanation - explains how it is possible to Work out our salvation - Php 2:12+) God is working in you, giving you the DESIRE and the POWER to do what pleases Him." When you have a godly desire, that desire is from God, because no good thing can come out of our old vile heart! And only God the Spirit in us can give the supernatural power necessary to accomplish that godly desire! So we could paraphrase Php 2:13, in simple words, by saying that God's Spirit is continually giving us the grace (desire and power) to do what pleases Him! This practical definition of grace ought to free many of us who are "trying to clean ourselves up!" It can't be done! We need His grace to give us the desire to "clean up" and the power to "clean up!" Are you resisting His grace? You can either receive it or resist it! The first way leaves us filled, while the second way leaves us empty, dry, and spiritually barren. O beloved, tell God you desperately need and want Him to pour out His grace on the situation you find yourself entwined. Do you have a root of bitterness? Then confess it (even that act is a reflection of His grace) and cry out for His grace to give you the desire and the ability to eradicate that deadly root and its caustic fruit. And keep crying out until He removes the root, for it is in His will that no child of His should ever have a root of bitterness! And when He removes it, celebrate with a praise and worship service! We really don’t believe God’s grace is sufficient until we believe we are insufficient. We can’t receive the sufficiency of God’s grace until we know our own insufficiency. -- David Guzik DEVOTIONALS RELATED TO Always Available I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. —Philippians 4:13 Today's Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Swedish hymnist Lina Sandell Berg served with her father in an evangelistic ministry. As they were traveling by ship, he accidentally fell overboard and drowned. In need of the comfort that only God can supply, she wrote the following words that are still sung by Christians around the world: Day by day And with each passing moment, Strength I find To meet my trials here; Trusting in My Father’s wise bestowment, I’ve no cause For worry or for fear. Secular counselors advise us to draw strength from our own inner resources. But that’s hopelessly unrealistic. The simple fact is that in and of ourselves we don’t have what it takes to deal with all of life’s pressures and problems. Even the strongest among us have weaknesses. We’re susceptible to vacillating moods, sinful temptations, and enslaving habits. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, the apostle Paul referred to a weakness he called a “thorn in the flesh.” But he didn’t tough it out on his own. He prayed for deliverance, but instead he was strengthened by the Lord so that he could endure his overwhelming difficulties. In times of conflict and defeat, we are forced to confess that we need a source of strength beyond ourselves. And we can rejoice that there’s an always-available source on which we can draw—the inexhaustible grace of God.By: Vernon Grounds When God gives a burden, He always gives the grace to bear it. Being Or Doing Most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. —2 Corinthians 12:9 Today's Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 Rev. Don Berns was 33 when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1981. Within a few years his voice was too weak to preach, his body trembled uncontrollably, and he faced having to retire from the ministry. Then after an experimental operation, he was given a dramatic though temporary return to active life. The trembling stopped and he reveled in the restored ability to preach, along with being able to surf and play tennis. Today, with his physical limitations returning, he says this about his experience: “In all things God does work for the good of those who love him. His power has been made perfect in my weakness. The Lord has now given me a ministry of being, rather than a ministry of doing. God’s primary concern for us, as whole persons, begins with our spiritual well-being so we can have a personal, trusting relationship with the One who created us and brings meaning to our lives.” Don Berns’ words echo those of the apostle Paul, who suffered with his own “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7). Paul realized that God was using his physical weakness to show Himself strong. In a world that values doing, who we are to God is far more important than anything we do for Him. —David McCasland Can we think it pleases His loving heart To cause us a moment's pain? Ah, no! But He sees through the present cross The bliss of eternal gain. —Ingler God often uses bitter experiences to make us better. The Blessing Of Burdens Most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. — 2 Corinthians 12:9 Today's Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:1-9 There’s a story about an old grandfather clock that had stood for three generations in the same corner of a room, faithfully ticking off the minutes and hours, day after day. In the clock was a heavy weight that was pulled to the top each night to keep it running. Then one day the clock was sold, and the new owner noticed the heavy weight. “Too bad,” he said, “that such an old clock should have to bear so great a load.” So he took the weight off the chain. At once the clock stopped ticking. “Why did you do that?” asked the clock. “I wanted to lighten your burden,” said the man. “Please put it back,” said the clock. “That’s what keeps me going!” Most people are looking for an easy way through life. They think that if they had no burdens they could live pleasantly and triumphantly. They don’t realize that God often keeps us going spiritually by the weights that seem to pull us down. Trials can give our feet spiritual traction. Our burdens not only bring us blessing in this life, but they also are “working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4:17).By: Henry G. Bosch One day at a time, and the day is His day: He has numbered its hours, though they haste or delay, His grace is sufficient; we walk not alone; As the day, so the strength that He gives to His own! —Flint The heavier the load, the better the traction. Pain's Purpose No chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness. —Hebrews 12:11 Today's Scripture: Hebrews 12:7-11 Affliction, when we accept it with patience and humility, can lead us to a deeper, fuller life. “Before I was afflicted I went astray,” David wrote, “but now I keep Your Word” (Psalm 119:67). And again, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes” (v.71). Pain, far from being an obstacle to our spiritual growth, can actually be the pathway to it. If we allow pain to train us, it can lead us closer to God and into His Word. It is often the means by which our Father graciously shapes us to be like His Son, gradually giving us the courage, compassion, contentment, and tranquility we long and pray for. Without pain, God would not accomplish all that He desires to do in and through us. Are you one whom God is instructing through suffering and pain? By His grace, you can endure His instruction patiently (2 Corinthians 12:9). He can make the trial a blessing and use it to draw you into His heart and into His Word. He can also teach you the lessons He intends for you to learn, and give you His peace in the midst of your difficulties. The Bible tells us, “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials” (James 1:2). God is making more out of you than you ever thought possible. By: David H. Roper Through trials we learn to overcome, Through Christ our victories are won; Come lay your burdens at His feet And find this inner peace so sweet. —Halsey Christ can transform painful trials into glorious triumphs. Our Prayer; God’s Will I pleaded with the Lord three times that [a thorn in the flesh] might depart from me. —2 Corinthians 12:8 Today's Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 The handwritten prayer request was heartbreaking in its seeming impossibility: “Please pray—I have multiple sclerosis, weak muscles, trouble swallowing, increased pain, diminishing sight.” The woman’s body was breaking down, and I could sense despair in her plea for intercession. But then came the hope—the strength that trumps the physical damage and degradation: “I know our blessed Savior is in full control. His will is of utmost importance to me.” This person may have needed my prayers, but I needed something she had: unabated confidence in God. She seemed to present a perfect portrait of the truth God taught Paul when he asked for relief from his difficulty—what he called his “thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor. 12:7). His quest for relief turned out to be not just a seeming impossibility; his request was turned down flat by his heavenly Father. Paul’s continual struggle, which was clearly God’s will, was a valuable lesson: Through his weakness, God’s grace could be displayed and God’s strength was “made perfect” (v.9). As we pour out our hearts to God, let’s be even more concerned with seeking His will than we are with receiving the answer we want. That’s where the grace and the strength come from. By: Dave Branon Dear heavenly Father, I bring to You my petitions, but I give to You my heart. While I plead for You to answer my prayers, I also submit to Your will so that my heart may be strengthened and Your work be done. We pray not to obtain our will in heaven, but to effect God’s will on earth. The Crooked Steeple My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9 Today's Scripture & Insight: 2 Corinthians 12:1–10 Turns out that crooked church steeples make people nervous. When we visited some friends, they shared how, after a fierce windstorm, their church’s proud steeple was crooked, causing some alarm. Of course, the church quickly repaired the flagging spire, but the humorous image got me thinking. Often church is seen as a place where everything is expected to look perfect; it’s not seen as a place where we can show up crooked. Right? But in a fallen, broken world, all of us are “crooked,” each with our own collection of natural weaknesses. We might be tempted to keep our vulnerabilities under wraps, but Scripture encourages the opposite attitude. In 2 Corinthians 12, for example, Paul suggests that it’s in our weaknesses—for him, an unnamed struggle he calls a “thorn in my flesh” (v. 7)—that Christ is most likely to reveal His power. Jesus had told Paul, “My power is made perfect in weakness” (v. 9). So Paul concluded, “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” (v. 10). We may not like our imperfections, but hiding them only denies Jesus’s power to work within those aspects of ourselves. When we invite Jesus into the crooked places in us, He gently mends and redeems in ways our effort could never accomplish. By: Adam R. Holz What are some of the “crooked” places in your life? In what ways have you seen God work through your imperfections? Invite Jesus into your imperfections for His mending. Sharing Your Faith My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9 Today's Scripture & Insight: 2 Corinthians 12:5–10 When author and evangelist Becky Pippert lived in Ireland, she longed to share the good news of Jesus with Heather, who’d done her nails for two years. But Heather hadn’t seemed remotely interested. Feeling unable to start a conversation, Becky prayed before her appointment. While Heather worked on her nails, Becky flipped through an old magazine and paused at a picture of one of the models. When Heather asked why she was so riveted, Becky told her the photograph was of a close friend who’d years before been a Vogue cover model. Becky shared some of her friend’s story of coming to faith in God, which Heather listened to with rapt attention. Becky left for a trip, and later when she returned to Ireland, she learned that Heather had moved to a new location. Becky reflected, “I had asked God to provide an opportunity to share the gospel, and He did!” Becky looked to God for help in her weakness, inspired by the apostle Paul. When Paul was weak and pleaded with God to remove the thorn in his flesh, the Lord said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Paul had learned to rely on God in all things—the big and the small. When we depend on God to help us love those around us, we too will find opportunities to share our faith authentically. By: Amy Boucher Pye When has God helped you to share your faith with someone? How could you pray for someone today whom you wish would come to know God? Loving Jesus, You work through my weaknesses to bring glory to Your Father. Move in my life today, that I might share Your good news of grace. Peacocks And Their Kin My strength is made perfect in weakness. — 2 Corinthians 12:9 Today's Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Male peacocks are resplendent creatures with iridescent blue-green plumage and elongated trains tipped with “eyes” colored in hues of gold, red, and blue. They are strikingly beautiful birds, but they have ugly feet! To be honest, most of us have some type of physical limitation. It may be something we’ve borne all our lives or one we’ve recently acquired. Paul described his deficiency as a “thorn in the flesh” that kept him humble (2 Cor. 12:7-9). Three times he asked the Lord to remove it, probably thinking that he could then serve God better. But the Lord assured him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Paul replied, “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” One of the ironies of faith is that God often chooses us to accomplish His most important tasks despite our imperfections, not because of our speaking ability, looks, or fitness for the task. Missionary Hudson Taylor said, “God was looking for someone weak enough to use, and he found [you and me]!” When we find our strength in Him, He can use us in ways we could never imagine (v.9). By: David H. Roper Lord, I have many weaknesses. Please show Your strength through me by using me in whatever way You please. May others see You at work in me and praise Your name. Amen. God’s strength is best seen in our weakness. Avenue To Power I will . . . boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. —2 Corinthians 12:9 Today's Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 When Tarah was in high school, she had a growing fear that she would someday battle a serious illness. So she began to pray—asking God to spare her from this imagined illness. Then she reached a turning point in her thinking, and she yielded her future to God no matter what. Years later, Tarah’s doctor found a cancerous tumor, which was successfully treated with chemotherapy. Tarah says that because she had entrusted her future to God, she was ready when the disease came. Her problem became an avenue for God’s strength. This idea of surrendering to God can be seen in Paul’s life as well. His surrender came after the problem—“a thorn in the flesh”—had developed (2 Cor. 12:7). Paul prayed repeatedly about this difficulty, pleading for the Lord to take it from him. But God responded, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (v.9). Understanding this, Paul adopted a positive view: “Most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. . . . For when I am weak, then I am strong” (vv.9-10). In facing our fears and struggles, it’s vital that we yield totally to God. When we do, God can use our problems as an avenue for His power. By: Dennis Fisher Whenever life’s burdens oppress you And trials are too much to face, Remember God’s strength in your weakness; He’ll give you His power and grace. —Sper Wielding our power is no substitute for yielding our will to God’s power. Golden Scars If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 2 Corinthians 11:30 Today's Scripture & Insight: 2 Corinthians 12:1–10 In the Netherlands, a group of fashion designers offer a “Golden Joinery” workshop. Inspired by the Japanese technique Kintsugi, where broken porcelain is visibly repaired with gold, participants collaborate in mending clothes in ways that highlight the mending work rather than trying to mask it. Those who are invited bring “a dear but broken garment and mend it with gold.” As they remake their clothes, the repair becomes ornamental, a “golden scar.” Articles of clothing are transformed in ways that highlight the places where they were torn or frayed. Perhaps this is something like what Paul meant when he said that he would “boast” in the things that showed his weakness. Although he’d experienced “surpassingly great revelations,” he doesn’t brag about them (2 Corinthians 12:6). He is kept from getting proud and overconfident, he says, by a “thorn” in his flesh (v. 7). No one knows exactly what he was referring to—perhaps depression, a form of malaria, persecution from enemies, or something else. Whatever it was, he begged God to take it away. But God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (v. 9). Just as the rips and tears in old clothes can become sights of beauty as they’re remade by designers, the broken and weak places in our lives can become places where God’s power and glory may shine. He holds us together, transforms us, and makes our weaknesses beautiful. By: Amy Peterson What are some weaknesses you try to keep hidden from the world? How has God revealed His power through your weakness? God, may all my scars become golden as You heal and repair me in ways that bring glory to Your name. A Good Stretch My strength is made perfect in weakness. —2 Corinthians 12:9 Today's Scripture: Romans 8:26-28 Physical therapy is a painful necessity after knee-replacement surgery. Part of my routine involved my therapist pulling my knee back into a bent position and holding it taut. “Good stretch?” Mason would ask encouragingly. “No,” I winced, “not that good!” I soon learned, however, how important it is to stretch one’s muscles and joints—sometimes causing discomfort—to gain full range of motion. That wasn’t the first time I’ve been “stretched” outside my comfort zone. God has sometimes urged me to share my faith with someone I didn’t know very well, or to give an offering that was far beyond what I usually give, or to confront someone about a situation. Abraham’s life illustrates the importance of faith when God asks us to move beyond our comfort zone. “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called . . . . He went out, not knowing where he was going” (Heb. 11:8). While we stretch our spiritual muscles, we may feel discomfort. But God assures us, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). Our adequacy—our sufficiency—is found in Him (3:5). When you boldly step out in faith and obedience to God, you may be surprised at how a “good stretch” can strengthen your spiritual life! By: Cindy Hess Kasper To stretch our faith, to take the risk, God says we will succeed If we but ask Him for the strength And grace that we will need. —D. De Haan Our faith is stretched by exchanging our weakness for God’s strength. Tensile Strength My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. — 2 Corinthians 12:9 Today's Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 When a new highway loop was being completed in West Michigan, a real danger was discovered. The bridges had been designed to bear their own weight—but not the traffic they were intended to carry. Before the highway could be opened, several bridges had to be re-engineered and rebuilt. Engineers have to be especially concerned with the tensile strength of the material in their construction plans for structures that are required to bear large amounts of stress due to weight. Tensile strength is the maximum amount of stretching a material can withstand before it tears. If the engineer miscalculates, the structure may collapse under the pressure. When we are under the weight of stress and hardship, we may wonder whether our Lord, who engineered us, has miscalculated our personal “tensile strength.” We are certain that we are going to collapse under the weight of the trials, but our Designer knows exactly what we can handle by His grace. He knows our limits and will never permit more than we can bear. As Bible teacher Ron Hutchcraft said, “God may send a load, but He never sends an overload!” Reinforced by the steel of God’s provision, our tensile strength won’t fail. By: Bill Crowder Wait on the Lord from day to day, Strength He provides in His own way; There’s no need for worry, no need to fear, He is our God who is always near. —Fortna Your problems can never exhaust God’s provisions. The Strongest Weak People Most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. —2 Corinthians 12:9 Today's Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 If there is anything that we love to hate more than the arrogance of others, it would have to be an awareness of our own weakness. We detest it so much that we invent ways to cover our personal inadequacy. Even the apostle Paul needed to be reminded of his own frailty. He was jabbed time and again by a “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7). He didn’t tell us what the thorn was, but author J. Oswald Sanders reminds us that “it hurt, humiliated, and restricted Paul.” Three times he pleaded with the Lord to take it away, but his request was not granted. Instead, he used his thorn to tap into God’s all-sufficient grace. The Lord promised, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (v.9). Courageously, Paul began to “own” his weakness and put the Lord’s grace to the test, a pathway that Sanders calls “a gradual educative process” in the apostle’s life. Sanders notes that eventually Paul no longer regarded his thorn as a “limiting handicap” but as a “heavenly advantage.” And his advantage was this: When he was weak in himself, he was strong in the Lord. As we accept our weaknesses, in Christ we can be strong weak people. By: Joanie Yoder May the Word of God dwell richly In my heart from hour to hour, So that all may see I triumph Only through His power. —Wilkinson God's strength is seen best in our weakness. Serving With Limitations My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. —2 Corinthians 12:9 Today's Scripture: Hebrews 11:8-19 When he was not yet 4 years old, Itzhak Perlman was stricken by polio, making him unable to use his legs. But he compensated for that loss by devoting himself to his violin. In the years that followed, he delighted multitudes of people with his music. He lost the use of his legs but his music gave him wings. What an inspiring example of devotion! Some of God’s servants have shown a similar devotion to their Lord. They have suffered the loss of certain abilities but have been inspired to develop other capacities for service. For example, when William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, discovered that he was going blind, he did not surrender to despair. With a positive outlook, he told his colleagues that he had served Christ while he could see, and he would do his utmost to serve Him even when blind. What motivates Christians to keep on serving and following Jesus to the best of their ability despite loss or hardship? Like Abraham, we live by faith. We look beyond this life and wait “for the city . . . whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:10). It’s “a better . . . heavenly country” (v.16). May the Holy Spirit empower us to glorify Christ—no matter what our limitations. By: Vernon Grounds Give me, Savior, a purpose deep, In joy or sorrow Thy trust to keep; And so through trouble, care, and strife, Glorify Thee in my daily life. —Bell Circumstances that imprison us cannot limit God's work through us. Good Riddance! My grace is sufficient for you. —2 Corinthians 12:9 Today's Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 A shredder ate hundreds of pieces of paper and other items in New York City on December 28 last year. Organizers of the second annual “Good Riddance Day” encouraged people to bring to Times Square their bad memories and suffering of 2008 and feed them into the industrial-strength shredder or toss them into an extra-large dumpster. Some participants shredded pieces of paper with the words “the stock market” or “cancer.” Others destroyed bank statements, and one person shredded a printed e-mail from a boyfriend who broke up with her. We long to “shred” memories of bad things that others have done to us or difficult circumstances we’re going through. The apostle Paul wanted relief from his present suffering, an infirmity that made him feel weak (2 Cor. 12:7-10). But God said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” God didn’t take away the problem. Instead, He gave Paul the grace to live with it. Difficulties burden us as we mull them over in our minds, affecting our relationships and our outlook on life. We as believers in Christ have a place to take these burdens. First Peter 5:7 tells us, “[Cast] all your care upon [the Lord], for He cares for you.” By: Anne Cetas Whenever life’s burdens oppress you And trials seem too much to face, Remember God’s strength in your weakness; He’ll give you His power and grace. —Sper God gives enough grace for whatever we face. The Advantage Of Weakness He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." —2 Corinthians 12:9 Today's Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 It is always a joy to talk with my old college friend Tom and get caught up on what the Lord has been teaching us since we last met. One time Tom began with a sheepish grin, “You know, I can’t believe how many years it’s taken me to learn my latest lesson—and I’m a Bible teacher!” He went on to list some of the trials and testings he and his family had been facing and how unworthy he felt teaching an adult Sunday school class. “Week after week I felt I was a total failure,” he confided, “and kept wondering if this might be my last Sunday before announcing my resignation.” Then one Sunday Tom noticed a young woman who stayed behind to speak to him. She was a friend of his family, so she knew what they had been going through. “Tom,” she said, “I hope you won’t take this the wrong way, but you’re a much better teacher when you’re going through tough times!” Another sheepish grin crept across Tom’s face as he told me, “Only then did I feel I grasped the Lord’s response to Paul’s thorn in the flesh: ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.'” Weakness helps us to relate to others and lets God’s power work in our lives. That may be our greatest asset. By: Joanie Yoder Inadequate but mighty— How strange, yet wholly true; Weak ones endued with power The Lord's great work shall do. —HGB We may face situations beyond our reserves, but never beyond God's resources. More Than A Conqueror We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. —Romans 8:37 Today's Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 Fanny Crosby, composer of thousands of songs, was truly “more than a conqueror.” When she was only 6 weeks old, faulty treatment of an eye infection resulted in lifelong blindness. By age 8, having fought and won over discouragement, she wrote this poem: Oh, what a happy soul am I! Although I cannot see, I am resolved that in this world contented I shall be. How many blessings I enjoy that other people don’t. To weep and sigh because I’m blind, I cannot—and I won’t! Instead of weeping and sighing, Fanny Crosby dedicated her blindness to God. Out of her rich Christian experience she composed numerous gospel hymns. In her testimonial song “Blessed Assurance,” she seemed to forget that she was blind. Phrases like “Visions of rapture now burst on my sight” or “Watching and waiting, looking above” expressed what she called “a foretaste of glory divine.” Do you long to know and apply her secret? Consider this: While many of us seek Christ for what we can get, Fanny Crosby sought Christ for what she could become through Him—more than a conqueror (Rom. 8:37). Even through times of extreme distress, God’s grace is sufficient (2 Cor. 12:9), and He is lovingly working to make us more like His Son. We all need to ask ourselves: Is our Christian life about getting or becoming? By: Joanie Yoder Seek Christ not for what you can get but for what you can become. Weaknesses And Strengths Out of weakness [they] were made strong. — Hebrews 11:34 Today's Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 I’m always amused when I watch the loons lift into flight off Piatt Lake in Michigan’s upper peninsula. They half-run, half-flap across the water for hundreds of feet before getting enough speed to lift into the air. I wondered why until I learned that unlike most birds, loons have solid bones. Their added weight makes it difficult for them to get airborne. I also learned that loons are clumsy on land because their legs are set farther back on their bodies than other birds. Walking is so difficult that many loons simply scoot across land to their nesting places. But these disadvantages—heavy bones, legs set far back—are also tremendous advantages. Because of their weight and leg placement, loons can dive deeper, farther, and faster. This is essential for catching fish and escaping predators. What we see as disadvantages in our lives can be turned into advantages, and apparent weaknesses can be transformed into strengths. That was true of the apostle Paul, whose “thorn in the flesh” became an opportunity for God’s strength to be seen in his weakness (2 Cor. 12:7-9). Is a weakness holding you down? Is it shyness or a physical limitation? Ask God to turn it into a strength for His glory. By: David C. Egner Inadequate but mighty— How strange, yet wholly true! Weak persons filled with power The Father's work shall do. —HGB Our limited potential accents God's limitless power. Thanks For Thorns I take pleasure in infirmities, . . . in distresses, for Christ's sake. —2 Corinthians 12:10 Today's Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 To give thanks in every situation is sometimes very difficult. When your body is wracked with pain, or you have just learned that you have a physical problem for which there is no cure, or you have lost your job, or a cherished relationship has been broken, it’s hard to feel grateful. But we can learn to thank God because He gives us strength when we feel weak. That’s why Paul could say, “I take pleasure in infirmities, . . . in distresses, for Christ’s sake” (2 Corinthians 12:10). And as believers, we can be grateful that through such experiences God is accomplishing what is best for us. Even through our suffering, He is working for our good (Romans 8:28). Scottish author and preacher George Matheson (1842-1906), who was blind, expressed this prayer: “I have thanked Thee a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my ‘thorn’ . . . . Teach me the glory of my cross; teach me the value of my ‘thorn.’ Show me that I have climbed to Thee by the path of pain. Show me that my tears have made my rainbow.” As we surrender ourselves to the Lord and remember that He is working in everything to accomplish our ultimate good, we can thank Him even when we are pierced by “thorns.” By: Richard DeHaan We can give thanks in everything And say, "Your will be done," For God's at work in everything To make us like His Son. —D. De Haan It's easier to bear the burden of suffering when we carry it with gratitude. Mixed Reviews If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity. — 2 Corinthians 11:30 Today's Scripture: 2 Corinthians 11:16-30 Several years ago The New York Times reported that coyotes were repopulating much of the American East. But they were getting mixed reviews. Some people saw them as a threat to domestic animals and regarded them as a nuisance. Others found the coyotes beneficial. One farmer said, “We’re happy to have them. The coyotes kill the mice and rabbits, which gnaw at the bottom of our trees.” In the same way that people see the coyote as either a friend or an enemy, we have a choice about how we are going to view the sharp-toothed people and adverse circumstances of our lives. We recognize the danger they pose, but do we see how we can benefit from their presence? We can decide to let their threats drive us to the Lord. Then, even though they seem to be working against us, they are actually working for our good. The apostle Paul trained himself to view the perils of his life as opportunities to express his faithfulness to Christ. He came to the place where he could “take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake” (2 Corinthians 12:10). Father, help us to see opportunities for growth where others see only problems. By: Mart DeHaan The obstacles that we must face Along life's rocky way Are used by God so we might hear "Well done" from Him someday. —Sper When we keep our eyes on Christ, obstacles become opportunities. Banged Up But Better I take pleasure in infirmities . . . . For when I am weak, then I am strong. —2 Corinthians 12:10 Today's Scripture: 2 Corinthians 11:24-12:10 Some people are like my little gray Plymouth Horizon. They just keep getting banged up. In the 5 years I’ve had this compact car, it’s been to the body shop four times. Some cars go their whole life without a trip to the fender-fixers, but this one just can’t seem to stay away. On separate occasions, three corners of my vehicle have been crunched. And just recently one corner got its second bonk. In one sense, this little runaround car is better off for its smashing successes. It has lots of parts that are not 5 years old, making portions of the car newer than its chronological age. According to James 1:2-4, people who seem to get “banged up” more than others may be better off for it. Although none of us would ask for trouble or desire it, Scripture indicates that our struggles make us stronger. Look at Paul’s example in 2 Corinthians 11. He listed the many bad things that had come his way as he served God. Then in chapter 12 he mentioned the “thorn in the flesh” that afflicted him. Paul wasn’t complaining. He was pointing out that God’s strength stands out best when we are weakest. Like Paul, when we get banged up, let’s look for the ways God has made us better. By: Dave Branon The work of God transforms us And makes us like His Son; He works through trials and testings Until our life is done. —Sper God allows trials in our lives, not to impair us but to improve us. Plenty Of Pencils When I am weak, then I am strong. —2 Corinthians 12:10 Today's Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 My mother lives alone now. It’s been 8 years since my dad died. She can’t get out by herself except to take brief walks. She’s having a terrible time with her short-term memory. Conversations are limited to a few repeated comments. Yet she told me something profound. She said, “I was thinking the other day about my troubles, and I decided that I don’t have anything to complain about. God’s taking care of me and I’ve got people who are helping. My only trouble is that I can’t remember anything, and I’ve got plenty of pencils and paper to write everything down.” The apostle Paul struggled with what he called “a thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7). But he found that in his weakness he experienced “the power of Christ” (v.9). He said, “I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake” (v.10). All of us have struggles. They may be related to age, finances, relationships, or a myriad of other difficulties. But if we truly set our heart to trusting God, and if we stay thankful even in the midst of our troubles, we’ll be more likely to acknowledge that we “don’t have anything to complain about.” By: Dave Branon Even in my darkest hour The Lord will bless me with His power; His loving grace will sure abound, In His sweet care I shall be found. —Brandt As you go through life, concentrate on the roses instead of the thorns. Strength In Weakness When I am weak, then I am strong. —2 Corinthians 12:10 Today's Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:1-13 After the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995, Billy Graham addressed the grieving citizens. Mrs. Frank Keating, the governor’s wife, later recalled, “As he sat on the platform before his message, I saw a man with physical weakness. But when he stood up to speak, there was energy and vitality. And when he sat down, he was again a man of weakness.” George Müller, 19th-century pastor and orphanage director, said this about weakness: “Our weakness gives opportunity for the power of the Lord Jesus Christ to be manifested. That blessed One never leaves and never forsakes us. The greater the weakness, the nearer He is to manifest His strength; the greater our necessities, the more have we ground to rely on it that He will prove Himself our Friend. This has been my experience for more than 70 years; the greater the trial, the greater the difficulty, the nearer the Lord’s help. . . . Therefore our business is just to pour out our hearts before Him; and help in His own time and way is sure to come.” Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 12:10 are a paradox. Although we can’t explain it, we can experience it. With God, our weakness becomes our greatest strength. By: Dennis J. DeHaan through us, His power we will see. —Sper The greatest barrier between us and God is our own supposed strength. The Secret Of Strength When I am weak, then I am strong. —2 Corinthians 12:10 Today's Scripture: Hebrews 11:32-40 If there’s anything we tend to despise, it’s weakness. Strength, on the other hand, is regarded as praiseworthy. But the apostle Paul made a puzzling statement: “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:10). How could he say that? He learned that when his own strength gave out and his personal resources of energy and wisdom were depleted, he had to rely completely on God’s inexhaustible grace. When he did that, his experience was like that of a traveler in the desert, who tosses aside his bone-dry canteen because he has come to an oasis with an abundant supply of crystal-pure water. Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission, knew the secret of strength through weakness. Complimented once by a friend on the impact of the mission, Hudson answered, “It seemed to me that God looked over the whole world to find a man who was weak enough to do His work, and when He at last found me, He said, ‘He is weak enough—he’ll do.’ All God’s giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on His being with them.” Have we learned the secret of abandoning our utterly inadequate self-sufficiency in order to draw on the resources of God’s unlimited power? By: Vernon Grounds God uses weakness to reveal His great sufficiency, So if we let Him work through us, His power we will see. —Sper To experience God's strength, we must recognize our weakness. Difficult People I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. — 2 Cor. 12:10 Today's Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:11-21 I haven’t always appreciated every member of the churches I pastored. Early in my ministry one man berated me in front of a group of people for my deep and dull sermons. A week later a deacon said my sermons were interesting but too simple—like little Sunday school lessons. At the time I didn’t thank God for those cantankerous people. Nor did I thank the Lord for the person who disheartened our new assistant organist by placing an anonymous note on the organ criticizing her makeup. I have learned, though, that I can appreciate and even show love to people who irritate me. As I read the words of the apostle Paul in his letters to the Corinthians, I find him expressing both deep hurt and powerful love. He received unjust criticism from several people in Corinth (2 Cor. 10:10), yet he continued to minister to them. He knew that difficult people, like difficult situations, teach us to rely on the Lord and to allow Him to show His power at work in our lives (12:9-10). Over the years, the Lord has helped me to show love to those who have irritated me. Many have become my friends. Dealing with difficult people will never be easy for us, but through the Spirit’s power we can do it. By: Herbert Vander Lugt Thinking It Over How do you respond when someone criticizes you? Why is it so hard to respond with love and patience? How does Matthew 5:43-48 apply to these situations? The worst criticism against you can bring out the best in you. For His Sake I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. —2 Corinthians 12:10 Today's Scripture: Acts 14:1-7,19 I remember a time when my children were young and my wife was in bed with a stubborn case of the flu. I was trying to fill in for her the best I could, but the kids weren’t cooperating. Even though I spent a lot of time playing with them, they seemed determined to fill the house with more noise and mess than I could tolerate. Why couldn’t they calm down and do more to help? I wondered why they couldn’t be more considerate for their mother’s sake—and for my sake? Then I thought about my relationship with God. Do I treat Him the way my kids were treating me? He must be grieved at times by my insensitivity to His concerns. Later I began looking up every passage of Scripture that mentions doing something for the Lord’s sake, doing what we know pleases Him. I read about Paul, Peter, and Stephen—men who put their lives on the line for Christ’s sake. For them that phrase was a way of life, not just empty words. On one occasion, the apostle Paul was even stoned and left for dead because he dared to proclaim the gospel (Acts 14:19). I wonder how much of what I do and say is for my Lord and Savior’s sake? That’s a good question for all of us to ponder. By: Mart DeHaan Your mission as a Christian is to take The cross of Christ and do His perfect will; To love and serve the Lord for Jesus' sake— You have no higher purpose to fulfill. —Hess Jesus gave His all for us—are we giving our all for Him? 2 Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. Plummer- That is why I am so well pleased with weaknesses, such as wanton injuries, dire hardships, persecutions, and desperate straits, when they are endured for Christ’s sake. For it is just when, in myself I am utterly weak that in Him I am truly strong. Therefore I am well content : 2Co 1:4 4:8-10,17 7:4 Ac 5:41 Ro 5:3 8:35-39 Php 1:29 2:17,18 Col 1:24 Jas 1:2 1Pe 1:6,7 4:13,14 with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties: 2Co 11:23-30 for Christ's: 2Co 4:5,11 10:18 Lu 6:22 Joh 15:21 1Co 4:10 Rev 2:3 for when: 2Co 12:9 13:4,9 Eph 6:10 2 Corinthians 12 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries CLICK HERE FOR IN DEPTH COMMENTS ON THIS VERSE Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong See the in depth comments 2 Corinthians 12:11 I have become foolish; you yourselves compelled me. Actually I should have been commended by you, for in no respect was I inferior to the most eminent apostles, even though I am a nobody. become: 2Co 1:6 2Co 11:1,16,17 for in no respect was I inferior to the most eminent apostles: 2Co 12:12 11:5 1Co 3:4-7,22 Ga 2:6-14 though: Lu 17:10 1Co 3:7 15:8-10 Eph 3:8 2 Corinthians 12 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Resources: 2 Corinthians 11:1; 16; 17 I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness; but indeed you are bearing with me. 16 Again I say, let no one think me foolish; but if you do, receive me even as foolish, so that I also may boast a little. 17 What I am saying, I am not saying as the Lord would, but as in foolishness, in this confidence of boasting. 2 Corinthians 3:1-3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you? 2 You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 3 being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 2 Corinthians 11:13-15+ For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds. 1 Corinthians 15:9-10 For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. CORINTHIANS SHOULD HAVE DEFENDED PAUL
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Spurgeon - When God does not answer His children according to the letter, He does so according to the Spirit. If you ask for silver, will you be angry if He gives you gold? If you seek bodily health, should you complain if instead He makes your sickness turn to the healing of spiritual maladies? Is it not better to have the cross sanctified than to have the cross removed? Was not the apostle more enriched when God allowed him still to endure the thorn in the flesh, and yet said to him, "My grace is sufficient for thee" (2 Cor. 12:9) Thomas Manton - Sickness is God's messenger to call us to meet with God. An unknown saint wrote that... Sickness, when sanctified (Ed: as boasting in one's weaknesses), teaches us four things: the vanity of the world, the vileness of sin, the helplessness of man and the preciousness of Christ (Ed: Especially the power of His grace). Matthew
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Spurgeon wrote, “It is easy to believe in grace for the past and the future, but to rest in it for the immediate necessity is true faith. Believer, it is now that grace is sufficient: even at this moment it is enough for thee.” iv. “My grace is sufficient for you.” Redpath explains this aspect best: “Do you see the humor of the situation? God’s grace: me. His grace sufficient for little me! How absurd to think that it could ever be any different! As if a little fish could swim in the ocean and fear lest it might drink it dry! The grace of our crucified, risen, exalted, triumphant Saviour, the Lord of all glory, is surely sufficient for me! Do you not think it is rather modest of the Lord to say sufficient?” v. “My grace is sufficient for you.” I’m so glad God didn’t say, “My grace is sufficient for Paul the Apostle.” I might have felt left out. But God made it broad enough. You can be the “you” in for you. God’s grace is sufficient for you! Are you beyond it? Are you so different? Is your thorn worse than Paul’s or worse than many others who have known the triumph of Jesus? Of course not. This sufficient grace is for you. vi. “This sufficiency is declared without any limiting words, and therefore I understand the passage to mean that the grace of our Lord Jesus is sufficient to uphold thee, sufficient to strengthen thee, sufficient to comfort thee, sufficient to make thy trouble useful to thee, sufficient to enable thee to triumph over it, sufficient to bring thee out of it, sufficient to bring thee out of ten thousand like it, sufficient to bring thee home to heaven … O child of God, I wish it were possible to put into words this all-sufficiency, but it is not. Let me retract my speech: I am glad that it cannot be put into words, for if so it would be finite, but since we never can express it, glory be to God it is inexhaustible, and our demands upon it can never be too great. Here let me press upon you the pleasing duty of taking home the promise personally at this moment, for no believer here need be under any fear, since for him also, at this very instant, the grace of the Lord Jesus is sufficient.” (Spurgeon) vii. “John Bunyan has the following passage, which exactly expresses what I myself have experienced. He says that he was full of sadness and terror, but suddenly these words broke in upon him with great power, and three times together the words sounded in his ears, “My grace is sufficient for thee; my grace is sufficient for thee; my grace is sufficient for thee.” And “Oh! Bethought,” says he, “that every word was a mighty word unto me; as ‘My,’ and ‘grace,’ and ‘sufficient,’ and ‘for thee’; they were then, and sometimes are still, far bigger than others be.” He who knows, like the bee, how to suck honey from flowers, may well linger over each one of these words and drink in unutterable content.” (Spurgeon) G C
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Spurgeon comments on God's grace equal to our need writing "Whenever the Lord sets His servants to do extraordinary work He always gives them extraordinary strength; or if He puts them to unusual suffering He gives them unusual patience. When we enter upon war with some petty New Zealand chief, our troops expect to have their charges defrayed, and accordingly we pay them gold by thousands, as their expenses may require; but when an army marches against a grim monarch, in an unknown country, who has insulted the British flag, we pay, as we know to our cost, not by thousands but by millions. And thus if God calls us to common and ordinary trials, He will defray the charges of our warfare by thousands; but if He commands us to an unusual struggle with some tremendous foe, He will discharge the liabilities of our war by millions, according to the riches of His grace which He has abounded to us through Christ Jesus. "I HAVE TO KNOW" THE STORY OF THOMAS HAUKER The story of the Christian martyr Thomas Hauker (England, 1555) illustrates the sufficiency of the grace of God in our hour of need. Thomas Hauker, was a bright, well-favored, good-looking young gentleman, who would not deny his personal relationship with Christ. For this he was sentenced to being burned at the stake. "Thomas", his friend lowered his voice so as not to be heard by the guard. "I have to ask you a favor. I need to know if what the others say about the grace of God is true. Tomorrow, when they burn you at the stake, if the pain is tolerable and your mind is still at peace, lift your hands above your head. Do it right before you die. Thomas I have to know." Thomas Hauker whispered to his friend, "I will." On the day of execution, the crowd was abuzz with Thomas's promise. As he was chained to the stake, he spoke quietly and with great grace to the men who laid the wood. Then he closed his eyes and the fire was kindled. Thomas continued to preach to those around him, but soon, for the roar of the flames, he could not. The fire burned a long time, but Hauker remained motionless. His skin was burnt to a crisp and his fingers were gone. Everyone watching supposed he was dead. Suddenly, miraculously, Hauker lifted his hands, still on fire, over his head. He reached them up to the living God and then, with great rejoicing, clapped them together three times. The people there broke into shouts of praise and applause. Hauker's friend had his answer. Beloved, does the story of this godly martyr not convict us? How often we wine "I can't take it anymore." THOUGHT - How often we catch ourselves expressing frustration over the smallest trial. How often we overstate our problems and underestimate God's promise to enable us to bear up under the trial or weakness. When you think you can't take much more, remember Thomas Hauker's example of God's sufficient grace. Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said "We must form our estimate of men less from their achievements and failures and more from their sufferings." No pain, no palm; No thorns, no throne No gall, no glory No cross, no crown." -- William Penn He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. - Jim Elliot John
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Spurgeon - Our trials are appointed (1Th 3:3-note), and there is an appointed portion of grace that will sustain us (2Co 12:9), grace exactly according to the measure of our needs. Our tests are appointed, and there is appointed an extraordinary help to deliver our souls from going into the pit. Murray Harris - This grace of Christ (2Co 13:14) was adequate for Paul, weak as he was, precisely because (gar, "for") divine power finds its full scope and strength only in human weakness—the greater the Christian's acknowledged weakness, the more evident Christ's enabling strength (cf. Eph 3:16-note; Philippians 4:13-note). But it is not simply that weakness is a prerequisite for power. Both weakness and power existed simultaneously in Paul's life (vv. 9b, 10b), as they did in Christ's ministry and death. Indeed, the cross of Christ forms the supreme example of "power-in-weakness." (Expositor's Bible Commentary) Alfred Plummer - It is easy to forget (God's) Providence in reading history (Ed: better yet "His-story"!), but we do not obtain a more scientific (Ed: systematic, methodical) view by leaving God out of the account. Where it is manifest that man was powerless, God's power become, not more real, but more evident. 2Co 4:7, 13:4, 1Co 1:25, 2:3, 4. (Commentary Online) (Cp Israel's Red Sea deliverance - Ex 14:10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Spurgeon - From all this I gather, that the worst trial a man may have may be the best possession he has in this world; that the messenger of Satan may be as good to him as his guardian angel; that it may be as well for him to be buffeted of Satan as ever it was to be caressed of the Lord himself; that it may be essential to our soul’s salvation that we should do business not only on deep waters, but on waters that cast up mire and dirt. The worst form of trial may, nevertheless, be our best present portion.” Alan Redpath -“Could anyone on earth be more meek than the Son of God to be hung on the cross, hung in our place that He might redeem us from our sins? As that point of absolute weakness was met by the mighty power of God as He raised Him from the dead, I wonder if the pressure of the thorn in Paul’s life was a reminder of the power of the cross.” I CANNOT but GOD CAN The Pulpit Commentary reminds us of... some high and noble instances of triumph over disease, pain, or disability, in doing philanthropic and Christian work; e.g. Richard Baxter, Robert Hall, Henry Martyn, C. Pattison, F. W. Robertson, etc. Show that, while bodily strength may be consecrated to God's service, it is also true that physical weakness may serve him, and a man's very frailty glorify his Lord. I. IT BEARS UPON HUMILITY. The grace which is the necessary completion and final adornment of Christian character. The grace which puts on Christian fruitage all the bloom. Humility is won by the pressure of God's hand upon us. II. IT NOURISHES DEPENDENCE ON GOD. "When I am weak, then am I strong." This is the Christian paradox. Such dependence is not easy; it is one of the things to which experience of failure and frailty alone can bring us. He is fitted for life and for heaven who from his deep heart says, "I cannot, but God can." III. IT CULTIVATES CHARACTER. We know that physical weakness bears directly and continuously upon temper, disposition, and virtue. Afflictions never test us, never bear upon the whole culture of character, as does continuous pain or frailty. "As the outward man perishes, the inward man is renewed day by day." (2Co 4:16) IV. IT KEEPS A MAN OPEN TO GOD. By its constant reminder of the need of God. The frail man proves the preciousness of prayer. F. W. Robertson most forcibly says of prayer, "The true value of prayer is not this — to bend the eternal will to ours, but this — to bend our wills to it." Frail, ever-suffering Paul laboured "more abundantly than they all," (1Co 15:10) and astonishing still is the soul-work that can be gotten out of feeble men and women — with God's grace. — R. T. (Pulpit Commentary, The - The Pulpit Commentary) Alan Carr writes that... when the Lord allows the thorns to pierce you and when He allows the trials and sufferings of life to buffet you, remember that He has a plan and He is getting glory out of your weakness. You may never know, this side of eternity, just how the Lord used your pain for His glory! You see, God has a plan for all you are going through, or you wouldn't be in it! Someone is watching, or God is working through it some way for His Own glory! Illustration - Fanny Crosby (Ed: Take five minutes and read a summary of her life - note the central role of the Word of God in her life) - Blinded at the age of five by a wrong prescription given by a doctor. But, in her 90 years of darkness she penned some 8,000 gospel hymns. Her pain has brought more glory to God than she could have ever imagined! (Blessings out of Buffettings) Comment: Let me also encourage you to read the story of the wonderful Christian poet Annie Johnson Flint an invalid whose parents had died and left her with the treatment of her invalid sister! - It was only after a most painstaking study and prayer, and reading of the best writers on this subject that she reached the conclusion that, while God can and does heal in some cases, in others He does not; that He has seen fit to leave some of the most triumphant saints deeply afflicted. Annie became thoroughly convinced that God intended to glorify Himself through her, in her weak, earthen vessel, and like Paul she had three times and more prayed that this might be taken from her, there came to her with real assurance the promise which said, "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness." She reached the place where she could also say with Paul, "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me (2Cor 12:9-note). His power in her weakness enabled her to pen some of the most beautiful Christian poetry ever written... WHAT GOD HATH PROMISED God hath not promised skies always blue, Flower strewn pathways all our lives through; God hath not promised sun without rain, Joy without sorrow, peace without pain. But God hath promised strength for the day, Rest for the labor, light for the way, Grace for the trials, help from above, Unfailing sympathy, undying love. HE GIVETH MORE GRACE He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater, He sendeth more strength when the labors increase; To added affliction He addeth His mercy, To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace. When we have exhausted our store of endurance, When our strength has failed ere the day is half done, When we reach the end of our hoarded resources, Our Father's full giving is only begun. His love has no limit, His grace has no measure; His power no boundary known unto men; For out of His infinite riches in Jesus He giveth and giveth and giveth again. (Read Annie's story exemplifying Spirit enabled — triumphant "Boasting in weakness"!)
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Spurgeon writes that... Your faith will never be weak when you are weak, but when you are strong your faith cannot be strong. To the apostle Paul, Jesus said, "My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2Co 12:9). The only way to increase our faith is through great trouble. We do not grow strong in faith on sunny days; only in stormy weather do we obtain it. Strong faith does not drop from heaven in a gentle dew; generally, it comes in the whirlwind and the storm. Look at the old oaks. How did they become so deeply rooted? The March winds will tell you. It was not the April showers or the sweet May sunshine that caused the roots to wrap around the rock. It was the rough, blustering, north winds of March shaking the trees. Life in the barracks does not produce great soldiers. Great soldiers are made amid flying shot and thundering cannons. Nor are good sailors made on calm seas. Good sailors are made on the deep, where the wild wind howls and the thunder rolls like drums. Storms and tempests make tough and hardy sailors. "They see the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep" (Ps 107:24). It is that way with the Christians, great faith must have great trials. Bunyan's character would never have been Mr. Great-heart if he had not once been Mr. Great-trouble. Valiant-for-truth would never have defeated the foes if they had not attacked him. So it is with us. We must expect great troubles before we attain great faith. Warren Wiersbe (Pause for Power) - God does not give us His grace simply that we might "endure" our sufferings. God's grace should enable us to RISE ABOVE our circumstances and feelings and cause our afflictions to work for us in accomplishing positive good. God wants to build our character so that we are more like our Savior. What benefits did Paul receive because of his suffering? For one thing, he experienced the power of Christ in his life. God transformed Paul's weakness into strength. The word translated rest means "to spread a tent over." Paul saw his body as a frail tent (2Cor 5:1ff), but the glory of God had come into that tent and transformed it into a holy tabernacle. Something else happened to Paul: he was able to glory in his infirmities. This does not mean that he preferred pain to health, but rather that he knew how to turn his infirmities into assets. What made the difference? The grace of God and the glory of God. He "delighted" in these trials and problems, not because he was psychologically unbalanced and enjoyed pain, but because he was suffering for the sake of Jesus Christ. He was glorifying God by the way he accepted and handled the difficult experiences of life. "It is a greater thing to pray for pain's conversion than its removal," wrote P.T. Forsyth, and this is true. Paul won the victory, not by substitution, but by transformation. He discovered the sufficiency of the grace of God. G Campbell
2 Coríntios 12:9
Spurgeon addressed his students with the following comments on 2Corinthians 12:9 - Gentlemen, there are many passages of Scripture which you will never understand until some trying or singular experience shall interpret them to you. The other evening I was riding home after a heavy day's work; I was very wearied and sore depressed; and swiftly and suddenly as a lightning flash, that text laid hold on me: My grace is sufficient for thee! On reaching home, I looked it up in the original, and at last it came to me this way: MY grace is sufficient for THEE. 'Why,' I said to myself, 'I should think it is!' and I burst out laughing. It seemed to make unbelief so absurd. It was as though some little fish, being very thirsty, was troubled about drinking the river dry; and Father Thames said: 'Drink away, little fish, my stream is sufficient for thee!' Or as if a little mouse in the granaries of Egypt, after seven years of plenty, feared lest it should die of famine, and Joseph said, 'Cheer up, little mouse, my granaries are sufficient for thee!' Again, I imagined a man away up yonder on the mountain saying to himself, 'I fear I shall exhaust all the oxygen in the atmosphere.' But the earth cries: 'Breathe away, O man, and fill thy lungs; My atmosphere is sufficient for thee!' Thank God for Your Thorns - We don't often thank God for our trials, heartaches, and difficulties. Although we are willing to praise Him for His goodness, we sometimes fail to realize that even adverse circumstances are blessings in disguise. Scottish preacher George Matheson had that problem. He realized that he was not as ready to praise God when things went wrong as he was when they went right. However, after he began to lose his eyesight, he changed his thinking. He struggled for some months with this weary burden until he reached the point where he could pray, "My God, I have never thanked You for my thorn. I have thanked You a thousand times for my roses, but not once for my thorn. I have been looking forward to a world where I shall get compensated for my cross, but I have never thought of my cross as itself a present glory. Teach me the value of my thorn." (Ed: I think George Matheson learned the power of the Cross in this life - take time to slowly ponder and/or sing the words of his hymn recorded below) Ed: Here are the words from George Matheson's beautiful hymn... O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go O Love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee; I give thee back the life I owe, That in Thine ocean depths its flow May richer, fuller be. O light that followest all my way, I yield my flickering torch to thee; My heart restores its borrowed ray, That in thy sunshine's blaze its day May brighter, fairer be. O Joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to thee; I trace the rainbow through the rain, And feel the promise is not vain, That morn shall tearless be. O Cross that liftest up my head, I dare not ask to fly from thee; I lay in dust life's glory dead, And from the ground there blossoms red Life that shall endless be. Here is the story behind this beautiful hymn - "O Love That Will Not Let Me Go" written on the evening of Matheson's sister's marriage. His whole family had went to the wedding and had left him alone. And he writes of something which had happened to him that caused immense mental anguish. There is a story of how years before, he had been engaged until his fiancé learned that he was going blind, and there was nothing the doctors could do, and she told him that she could not go through life with a blind man. He went blind while studying for the ministry, and his sister had been the one who had taken care of him all these years, but now she is gone. He had been a brilliant student, some say that if he hadn't went blind he could have been the leader of the church of Scotland in his day. He had written a learned work on German theology and then wrote "The Growth of The Spirit of Christianity." Louis
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Spurgeon - Periods of weakness will occur. A great strain may be placed on us. We become exhausted or severely depressed, and we may imagine that we are ready to die. At times like this, God will supply strength. Our extreme distress will be His opportunity; our famine, His hour of plenty. “His strength is made perfect in weakness” (2Co 12:9- note). “He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength” (Is 40:29). David sung, “He satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s (Ps. 103:5- note). David expected this to happen always. “He restores my soul” (Ps. 23:3- note), he says. Often, David’s Psalms start in painful depression but conclude with exultation because heavenly love has poured fresh life into his fainting soul. From much soul sickness, Jesse’s son has recovered; from many a sinking, he has been lifted in holy joy. Expect this, believer. God will give you strength as you need it. “As your days, so shall your strength be” (Deut. 33:25). “He gives more grace” (James 4:6- note). Revel in God’s smile. Find a haven in His manifested love. Have faith and be of good cheer. There are even richer mercies to come. You will be baptized again into the Holy Spirit. You will receive anew the spirit of adoption, and your joy shall be full. Therefore, lift up your head. (Spurgeon, C., & Clarke, R. H. Beside Still Waters: Words of Comfort for the Soul. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers) John MacDuff's Devotional - GRACE SUFFICIENT: Nothing affords such sweet comfort in a time of sickness and trial as the thought of the "all-sufficiency" of Christ our Redeemer. Be our case ever so trying, our needs ever so numerous, our enemies ever so strong, our fears ever so appalling, our danger ever so imminent—Jesus is "all-sufficient." It is only our weak faith that makes us to become downcast and sad at heart. What is the assurance of Scripture? "He is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you always, having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good word and work." "All grace!"—"all sufficiency!"—in "all things"—and these to "abound." "Like as a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear him." Here there is enough surely to afford comfort—"grace," "sufficiency," "pity." Christian, what is your sorrow—your trial—your temptation? Is it, "I have had a lengthened time of sickness and pain—my strength has failed, and the skill of man has been unavailing. Around me I can see no ray of hope; no symptom of returning health—no indication of the removal of my disease—and my prayers have returned to me unanswered." Ah, Christian, it is to be feared there is within you a 'spirit of murmuring'. Whose hand is laid upon you? Your Father's. Why has He chastened you? To bring your will fully into conformity with His own. Does not He, "to whom all hearts are open, and from whom no secrets are hidden," know best when His gracious purpose has been accomplished in you, His child? Is it not a token for good that your days have been prolonged? He waits but to see you bowing submissively before Him—saying from your inmost soul, "Do with me what seems good it Your sight"—and He will either remove the cross from off you, or give you the blessedness of realizing the truth of these words, "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light." But perhaps you are distressed by doubts and fears that God is angry with you—that in displeasure—not in love—He has laid you low. Oftentimes you are compelled to look backward, and the retrospect is gloomy—a retrospect of ingratitude, forgetfulness, wandering—of warnings unheeded, providences disregarded, mercies received unthankfully; and the thought arises—"For these transgressions I am chastened of the Lord; they are too aggravated, too numerous, to be forgiven." "Forgiven!" "My grace is sufficient for you." "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin." "If any man sins, we have an advocate with the Father." It is well to look backward—well to recall the past; but not in a gloomy, despairing spirit—not as if by present or future suffering we could atone for sin. No, assuredly—but to lead us "to believe on Him who is able to save unto the uttermost"—to "believe, and be saved." All our woe and misery could not atone for any one transgression; and it is not by a painful counting up of duties undone, and sins committed, or by a resolving ever so earnestly to be more careful in all these things for the time to come, that we can be saved. Salvation is alone in Christ. To Him we must go—to Him who, by His death, purchased for Himself the heirs of death, that they might become heirs of glory, and who sends sickness and trial to check and restrain us—to make us bethink ourselves—to bring us to Him, the only Savior and Redeemer—that we may be driven from the world, and from ourselves, to Him, and in Him find rest unto our souls. Christian, look away then from self and sin—so vile and loathsome—to Jesus your Brother, Savior, God. He will not cast you off, guilty as you are; He will not fail to welcome you; but He will say unto you, "Be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven!" And if at any time you are becoming faint and weary in the pilgrimage of life, oh, turn hopefully—turn without a misgiving to these words, "My grace is sufficient for you; for my strength is made perfect in weakness." But perhaps this is not your case. You tell us, "I feel and acknowledge the infinity of God's mercy in Christ. For years have I tasted that the Lord is gracious, and He has borne with me amid countless sins and shortcomings; but I have an evil heart of unbelief, against whose suggestions I have continually to struggle, and whose temptings I sometimes feel myself unable to resist. No sooner have I gained a victory over some besetting sin, some evil temper, some worldly desire—than another, equally powerful and seductive, presents itself, and from day to day I am engaged in a conflict, battling with some enemy, resisting some onset of temptation, and hardly able to keep my ground." Reader, yours is precisely the Christian's experience, just what you were told to expect when you entered the narrow way—and what you may continue to anticipate until you "enter the rest which remains for the people of God." But why be discouraged? He who has sustained you hitherto will be "with you" still. Your strength has often been fast failing, but you have not been overcome; why then should you dread that defeat awaits you? The very struggles you have maintained have added to your strength, and given you fresh vigor; the very fear of being vanquished has been a stimulus to new exertion, and is a sign that you "will finally prevail." Your enemies are strong and mighty—yes, but not stronger than those whom your blessed Savior met and trampled underfoot. He will nerve your arm afresh for the struggle. He will help you not only to maintain your ground, but to gain the victory; and if ever you feel within you the risings of fear, or doubt, or despondency, oh, be cheered by these two precious assurances—"My grace is sufficient for you;" and again, "To him who overcomes will I grant to sit with me on my throne, even as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father on his throne." Christian, whatever your trial, distress, or sorrow—have faith in the promise of your Savior. All else may fail you, but "His word stands sure." You will have your struggles and conflicts, you will have dark and gloomy days and nights of storm and tempest; but fear not—you will be carried safely through them all. You may be wounded and torn, and, covered with many scars, bearing the marks of many a hard-fought battle—with the dust of a weary journey on your garments—with the sword not resting in its scabbard, but grasped as if for another onset—you may be summoned from the battle-plain—but what then? Away from conflict, from tumult, and strife—away from sin, temptation, and sorrow—away, in that blessed home of peace and purity, where no fear shall again disturb, no foe again attack, no evil heart again lead astray—you will "rest from all your labors." The trumpet will no more summon to the battle; its last clarion-note will be "Victory!" and amid the glad hosannas of the heavenly hosts, you will be welcomed as another conqueror—a conqueror through Him whose grace was sufficient for you, and whose strength was made perfect in weakness. O most gracious Father, who has invited all who feel their need of Your grace to come unto You—have mercy upon me, for I am in trouble. I am deeply sensible that I am far from exercising that unreserved submission to Your will which I ought to exercise. Help me, I beseech You, so to trust in Your infinite goodness and unerring wisdom, that I may be able to say from my very heart, "May Your will be done." Oh, teach me to be grateful for the manifold comforts allotted me, and support me graciously, that my soul be not cast down and disturbed within me. Keep me from all repining thoughts, and make Your grace at all times sufficient for me, and perfect Your strength in my weakness. Let my soul be supported by faith, hope, and patience, under all the sufferings I may yet endure. Bless the means that are used, and make them effectual, if it be Your good pleasure, for restoring me to health, that I may again praise You in the assembly of Your saints. Make me willing to glorify You either by life or by death. Give me a simple dependence upon You, and enable me in all things to commit my way unto You, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen. "Who among you fears the Lord and obeys his servant? If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God." Isaiah 50:10 (John MacDuff. Encouragements to Patient Waiting) SUFFICIENT GRACE "How precious also are Your thoughts unto me, O God!" "My grace is sufficient for you: for My strength is made perfect in weakness." 2Cor. 12:9 The apostle's 'thoughts' were desponding ones, when his God whispered in his ear this precious thought of comfort. A thorn in the flesh—a messenger from Satan—had been sent to buffet him. We know not specially what this thorn may have been. It is purposely left indeterminate, that each may make an individual application to his own case and circumstances. But who, in their diversified and chequered experience, has not to tell of some similar trial?—some dead fly in life's otherwise fragrant ointment—some sorrow which casts a softened shadow over perhaps an otherwise sunny path? Infirm health, worldly loss, domestic anxiety, family bereavement, the discharge of arduous and painful duty, the treachery of tried and trusted friends, the sting of wounded pride or disappointed ambition, the fierce struggle with inward corruption and unmortified sin, the scorpion-dart of a violated and accusing conscience; the world all the time, perhaps little knowing or dreaming of the inward conflict, the life-long trial, the fountain of tears, though "a fountain sealed." As the apostle earnestly entreated that his thorn might be taken away, so may you, reader, also have prayed fervently and long, that your trial might be averted, your sorrow mitigated, if not removed; and you doubtless imagine that it would be far better, were this messenger of Satan, this spirit of evil exorcized and cast out. But here again, God's thoughts are often not our thoughts. What was the answer to the apostle's earnest petition when "three times he pleaded with the Lord to take it away." It was not granting the removal of the trial—but it was better. It was the promise of grace to bear it. "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for you." It was enough; he asked no more. He may have demurred at first to the strange answer—so unlike what he expected, so unlike what he wished. But he was led before long, not only joyfully to acquiesce, but heartily to own and acknowledge the higher and better wisdom of the Divine procedure—"Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." This, too, may be God's dealings with you. Often and again, it may be, have you taken your hidden sorrow—the burdening secret of your heart—laid it on the mercy-seat, and with importunate tears implored that it might be taken away. Yet the sorrow still remains! But, nevertheless, remember, the prayer is not unanswered. It has been answered—not perhaps according to your thoughts or desires, but according to the better thoughts and purposes of your heavenly Father. The thorn is still left to pierce and lacerate; but strength has been given to bear it. The trial, be what it may, has taught you, as it did Paul, the lesson of your own weakness and your dependence on Divine aid. It has been a needful drag on your chariot wheels—a needful clipping of your wings—lest, like the great apostle, "you should be exalted above measure." Who can complain of the heaviest of sorrows if they have thus been the means alike of discovering to us our own weakness, and of endearing to us the all-sufficient grace of a Savior God? Blessed, comforting assurance—"in all time of our need," that God will deal out the requisite grace. Seated by us like a physician, with His hand on our pulse, He will watch our weakness, and accommodate the supply to our several needs and circumstances. He will not allow the thorn to pierce too far—He will not allow the temptation to go beyond what we are able to endure. "The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation." "As your day is so shall your strength be." Grace "sufficient" will be given—sufficient for every emergency. His arms are ever lower than our troubles. I will go forth bearing my cross, fortified with the assurance, and breathing the prayer, "Your God has commanded your strength. Strengthen O God, that which you have wrought for us." Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with My victorious right hand. Isaiah 41:10 (John MacDuff. The Thoughts of God) STRENGTHENETH Philippians 4:13. F B Meyer IT WAS a marvellous statement for a man to make: "I can do all things." At first sight we suppose the speaker had either had but very little experience of the world with its varying conditions; or that he was some favoured child of fortune, who had never known want, because possessing an abundant supply of wealth and power. But closer consideration removes each supposition; and we find ourselves face to face with a prisoner bound to a Roman soldier, who had run through the whole scale of human experience, now touching its abundant fulness, and anon descending to its most abject want; one who said himself: "I know how to be abased, and I know also how to abound; in everything and in all things have I learned the secret both to be filled and to be hungry, both to abound and to be in want." It was, therefore, after a very profound experience of the extremes of human life, and of all the variations between, that the Apostle made that confident assertion: "I can do all things." It is a temper of mind which we might well covet. To be superior to every need; to bear prosperity without pride, and adversity without a murmur; to feel that there is no earthly circumstance that can disturb the soul from its equilibrium in God; to be able to yoke the most untameable difficulties to the car of spiritual progress; to have such a sense of power as to laugh at impossibility and to sing in adversity; to help the weak, even though we might seem to need every scrap of power for ourselves; to feel amid the changing conditions of life as a strong swimmer does in the midst of the ocean waves, which he beats back in the proud consciousness of power--all this, and much more, is involved in the expression, "I can do all things." And when we ask for the talisman, which has given a frail man this marvellous power, it is given in the words: "in Him that strengtheneth Me." The Old Version gave "through Christ;" the New alters it to "in Him." And at once we see the connection with all that line of inner teaching, of which, to the careful student, the Bible is so full. Those words are the keynote of Blessedness, first struck by our Lord, and repeated with unwearying persistence by His immediate followers, to whom they were the secret of an overcoming life. The one main thought of them is this--that the strength which we covet is not given to us in a lump, for us to draw upon as we choose, like electricity stored in boxes for use; it is a life, and it is only to be obtained so long as we are in living union with its source. Apart from Him we can do nothing. Whilst we are abiding in Him, nothing is impossible. The one purpose of our life should therefore be to remain in living and intense union with Christ, guarding against everything that would break it, employing every means of cementing and enlarging it. And just in proportion as we do so, we shall find His strength flowing into us for every possible emergency. We may not always feel its presence; but we shall find it present whenever we begin to draw on it. Or if ever we are more than usually sensible of our weakness, one moment of upward looking will be sufficient to bring it in a tidal wave of fulness into our hearts. There is no temptation which we cannot master; no privation which we cannot patiently bear; no difficulty with which we cannot cope; no work which we cannot perform; no confession or testimony which we cannot make--if only our souls are living in healthy union with Jesus Christ, for as our day, or hour, is, so shall our strength be: so much so, that we shall be perfectly surprised at ourselves, as we look back on what we have accomplished. Dwell on that present tense, strengtheneth. (Ed: In 2Cor 12:9, arkeo is not in the past or future tense but is in the present tense indicating that the divine gift of grace is continually sufficient) Hour by hour, as the tides of golden sun-heat are quietly absorbed by flowers and giant trees--so will the strength of the living Saviour pass into our receptive natures. He will stand by us; He will dwell in us; He will live through us--strengthening us with strength in our souls. The dying patriarch told how his favourite child would be made strong, by the mighty God of Jacob putting His Almighty hands over his trembling fingers; as an archer might lay his brawny skilled hands on the delicate grasp of his child, teaching him how to point the arrow, and enabling him to pull back the bow string. Oh what beauty there is in the comparison! Who would not wish to be such a favoured one, feeling ever the gentle touch of the hands of God, empowering us, and working with us! Yet that portion may be thine, dear reader, and mine. To the prayer first offered by Nehemiah, "O God, strengthen my hand," God answers Himself: "I will strengthen thee." "Wait on the Lord, and He shall strengthen thine heart." "They that wait upon the Lord shall change their strength," i.e. they shall exchange one degree of strength for another, in an ever ascending scale. The strength of Christ is never found in the heart that boasts its own strength. The two can no more co-exist, than light and darkness can co-exist in the same space. And therefore the Apostle used to glory in anything that reminded him of his utter helplessness and weakness. This thought made him even acquiesce willingly to the thorn in his flesh. It was at first his repeated prayer that it might be removed; but when the Lord explained that His strength could only be perfected in weakness, and that the presence of the thorn was a perpetual indication and reminder of the weakness of his flesh, driving him to the Strong for strength, and making him a fit subject for the conspicuous manifestation of God's might at its full then he protested that he would most gladly glory in his weakness, that the strength of Christ might rest upon him; for when he was weak, in his own deep consciousness, then he was strong in the strength of the strong Son of God (2 Cor. 12:9). It would be a great help to us all if we could look at difficulties and trials in this way. Considering that they have been sent, not to grieve or annoy us, but to make us despair of ourselves, and to force us to make use of that divine storehouse of power, which is so close to us, but of which we make so little use. Difficulties are God's way of leading us to rely on His almighty sufficiency. They are none of them insurmountable; they are the triumphs of His art; they are meant to reveal to us resources of which, had it not been for their compulsion, we might have lived in perpetual ignorance--just as hunger has led to many of the most wonderful inventions. What glorious lives might be the lot of the readers of these lines, if only they would abjure their own strength be it wisdom, wealth, station, or any other source of creature aid; and if they would learn that the true strength is to sit still at the source of all might and grace, receiving out of His fulness, and mingling the song of the psalm, with the glad affirmation of the Apostle: "I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength;" "I can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me!" (F. B. Meyer. The present Tenses of the Blessed Life) POWER IN WEAKNESS by Andrew Murray "He said unto me, My strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore will I rather glory in my weakness, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in weakness: for when I am weak, then am I strong" 2Corinthians 12:9,10. There is almost no word that is so imperfectly understood in the Christian life as the word weakness. Sin and shortcoming, sluggishness and disobedience, are given as the reasons for our weakness. With this interpretation of weakness, the true feeling of guilt and the sincere endeavour after progress are impossible. How can I be guilty, when I do not do what it is not in my power to do? The Father cannot demand of His child what He can certainly do independently. That, indeed, was done by the law under the Old Covenant, but the Father, under the New Covenant, does not do that. He requires nothing more of us than what He has prepared for us to do in His Holy Spirit. The new life is a life in the power of Christ through the Spirit. The error of this mode of thinking is that people estimate their weakness, not too highly, but too meagrely. They would still do something by the exercise of all their powers, and with the help of God. They do not know that they must be nothing before God. You think that you have still a little strength, and that the Father must help you by adding something of His own power to your feeble energy. This thought is wrong. Your weakness appears in the fact that you can do nothing. It is better to speak of utter inability, for that is what the Scriptures mean by the word "weakness." "Without me ye can do nothing." (cp Jn 15:5, see this principle dramatically illustrated by the resurrected Jesus to His disciples, Jn 21:3, 4, 5, 6, a lesson they need to see again - Lk 5:4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11). "In us is no power." (Ed: Of course Murray is referring to nothing of eternal value, nothing supernatural which requires Jesus' power!) Whenever the young Christian acknowledges and admits to his weakness, then he learns to understand the secret of the power of Jesus (Ed: cp Mt 15:22, 25, 26, 27, 28 [Canaanite woman "Lord, help me!"]; Mk 9:17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 ["I do believe; help my unbelief."]; Mt 14:25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 [Peter's "weakness" = he began to sink, for his fear had replaced his faith. And yet at the point of weakness, he acknowledged Jesus' power crying out "Lord save me"] Mt 8:24, 25, 26, 27 - Who brought the great storm? What was God testing? And what about the storms He allows in our life? On whose strength will we make a conscious choice to rely when the "storms" come [They will come beloved!]? Do we really trust that His strength is made perfect in our weakness? Then let us act accordingly, rather than reacting out of our old fallen nature). He then sees that he is not to wait and pray to become stronger, to feel stronger. No, in his inability, he is to have the power of Jesus. By faith he is to receive it. (Ed: This is legitimate "name it, claim it"!) He is to believe that it is for him, and that Jesus Himself will work in and by him (Ed: cp Col 1:28-note, Col 1:29-note, Ep 3:20-note, Heb 13:21-note - In each of these passages, observe the juxtaposition of human responsibility to act/work in faith and God's sovereign power working in and through us). It then becomes clear to him what the Lord means when He says, "My power is made perfect in your weakness." He knows to return the answer, "When I am weak, then am I--yes, then am I--strong." Yes, the weaker I am, the stronger I become. And he learns to sing with Paul, "I shall glory in my weaknesses." "I take pleasure in weaknesses." "We rejoice when we are weak." "The Lord is my strength and song" It is wonderful how glorious that life of faith becomes for him who is content to have nothing. How glorious to feel nothing in himself and to always live on the power of his Lord. He learns to understand what a joyful thing it is to know God as his strength. He lives in what the Psalms so often express, "I love Thee, O Lord, my strength." (Ex 15:2KJV, Ps 118:14KJV-note) "I will sing of Thy strength: unto Thee, O my strength, will I sing praises." (Ps 59:16KJV-note, Ps 59:17KJV-note) He understands what is meant when a psalm says, "Give (ascribe) strength to the Lord (Ps 29:1KJV-note): the Lord will give strength to His people," (cp Ps 29:11KJV-note) and when another says, "Give strength to God: the God of Israel, He giveth strength and power to His people." (Ps 68:35KJV-note) When we give or attribute all the power to God, then He gives it to us again. "I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one" (1Jn 2:14). The Christian is strong in his Lord. (Ep 6:10-note, cp 2Ti 4:17-note) Not sometimes strong and sometimes weak, but always weak, and therefore always strong. He has merely to know and use his strength trustfully. To be strong is a command (present imperative; passive voice), a mandate that must be obeyed. From obedience there comes more strength (Ed: cp Joshua 1:18 - physical warfare, which pictures our spiritual warfare). "Be of good courage and He shall strengthen thine heart" (Ps 31:24KJV-note). In faith, the Christian must simply obey the command, "Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might." (Ep 6:10-note) O God of the Lord Jesus, the Father of glory give unto us the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Jesus, so that we may know the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe (Ep 1:17-note, Ep 1:18, 19-note). Amen. J I Packer writes that… This (Ed: That Paul would carry the thorn in his flesh all his life, and yet it would make perfect the Lord's strength in his life), I believe, is a pattern likely to be worked out again and again in your life and in mine. The Lord first of all makes us conscious of our weakness so that in the face of some particular burden our heart cries out, “I can’t cope with this.” We go to the Lord, telling him, “I can’t handle this. Please take it away!” And the Lord replies, “In my strength you can handle this, and in answer to your prayer, I will strengthen you to handle it.” Thus in the end your testimony, like Paul’s, will be, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13 NKJV-note). That, I believe, is the fullest expression for any of us of the empowered Christian life. (Packer, J. God's Plans for You) J C Philpot's Devotional: Trials, temptations, sorrows, perplexities "There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, that I should not be exalted excessively. Concerning this thing I begged the Lord three times that it might depart from me. He has said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest on me." 2Corinthians 12:7-9 Depend upon it, the Lord's family have to go through much tribulation on their way to heaven. So says the unerring word of truth, and so speaks the experience of every God-taught soul. Now, in these seasons of trouble, in these painful exercises, in these perplexing trials, the Lord's people need strength—yet the Lord sends these trials in order to drain and exhaust them of 'creature strength.' Such is the 'self-righteousness' of our heart—such the 'legality' intertwined with every fiber of our natural disposition—that we cleave to our own righteousness as long as there is a thread to cleave to—we stand in our own strength as long as there is a point to stand upon—we lean upon our own wisdom as long as a particle remains! In order, then, to exhaust us, drain us, strip us, and purge us of this pharisaic leaven, the Lord sends trials, temptations, sorrows, perplexities. What is their effect? To teach us our weakness, and bring us to that one and only spot where God and the sinner meet—the spot of creature helplessness. In order, therefore, to bring us to this spot, to know experimentally the strength of Christ, and feel it to be more than a doctrine, a notion, or a speculation—to know it as an internal reality, tasted by the inward palate of our soul—to have this experience wrought into our hearts with divine power, we must be brought to this spot—to feel our own utter weakness. (J. C. Philpot. RICHES) The Power Of Weakness - I received a letter from a woman who read about the way I had learned to live a life dependent on God. She was challenged as she read that Christ's strength was manifested through my weakness, particularly when I started a Bible study while recovering from a nervous condition. She read about my trembling hands, and how my neighbors were encouraged to admit their own weaknesses and to depend on Christ as they saw me learning to do. She wrote, "I laughed and cried as I read your story. I feel deeply encouraged that God can use me, even though I feel weak." We may think that we attract others to Christ more effectively through our strengths than through our weaknesses. But the Lord used trouble and weakness in the apostle Paul's life to teach him to rely on God's power (2Co 1:9). He testified, "When I am weak, then I am strong" (2Co 12:10). When Christians act as if they hardly know what weakness is, needy people often think, "I could never be like that." But when Christians admit they experience Christ's strength in their weakness, they proclaim this hope: "The strength Christ gives to me, He can give to you!" Whose strength will you proclaim today—your own, or God's? — Joanie Yoder God uses weakness to reveal His great sufficiency; So if we let Him work through us, His power we will see. —Sper To experience God's strength, we must first admit our weakness. “We must form our estimate of men less from their achievements and failures and more from their sufferings.” -Dietrich Bonhoeffer LABORING MORE ABUNDANTLY Andrew Murray 'By the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed on me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.'--1Co 15:10. 'And He hath said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My power is made perfect in weakness… In nothing was I behind the chiefest of the apostles, though I am nothing.'--2Co 12:9, 11 . In both of these passages Paul speaks of how he had abounded in the work of the Lord. 'In nothing was I behind the chiefest of the Apostles.' 'I labored more abundantly, than they all.' In both he tells how entirely it was all of God, who worked in Him, and not of himself. In the first he says: 'Not I, but the grace of God which was with me.' And then in the second, showing how this grace is Christ's strength working in us, while we are nothing, he tells us: 'He said unto me: My grace is sufficient for thee: My power is made perfect in weakness.' May God give us 'the Spirit of revelation, enlightened eyes of the heart,' to see this wonderful vision, a man who knows himself to be nothing, glorying in his weakness, that the power of Christ may rest on him, and work through him, and who so labors more abundantly than all. What does this teach us as workers for God[?] God's work can only be done in God's strength.--It is only by God's power, that is, by God Himself working in us, that we can do effective work. Throughout this little book this truth has been frequently repeated. It is easy to accept of it; it is far from easy to see its full meaning, to give it the mastery over our whole being, to live it out. This will need stillness of soul, and meditation, strong faith and fervent prayer. As it is God alone who can work in us, it is equally God who alone can reveal Himself as the God who works in us. Wait on Him, and the truth that ever appears to be beyond thy reach will be opened up to thee, through the knowledge of who and what God is. When God reveals Himself as 'God who worketh all in all,' thou wilt learn to believe and work 'according to the power of Him who worketh in thee mightily.' God's strength can only work in weakness.--It is only when we truly say, Not I! that we can fully say, but the grace of God with me. The man who said, In nothing behind the chiefest of the Apostles! had first learnt to say, though I am nothing. He could say: 'I take pleasure in weaknesses, for when I am weak then am I strong.' This is the true relation between the Creator and the creature, between the Divine Father and His child, between God and His servant. Christian worker! learn the lesson of Thine own weakness, as the indispensable condition of God's Power working in thee. Do believe that to take time and in God's presence to realize thy weakness and nothingness is the sure way to be clothed with God's strength. Accept every experience by which God teaches thee thy weakness as His grace preparing thee to receive His strength. Take pleasure in weaknesses! God's strength comes in our fellowship with Christ and His service.--Paul says: I will glory in my weakness, that the strength of Christ may rest upon me.' 'I take pleasure in weaknesses for Christ's sake.' And he tells how it was when be had besought the Lord that the messenger of Satan might depart from him, that He answered: 'My grace is sufficient for thee.' 'Christ is the wisdom and the power of God.' We do not receive the wisdom to know, or the power to do God's will as something that we can possess and use at discretion. It is in the personal attachment to Christ, in a life of continual communication with Him, that His power rests on us. It is in taking pleasure in weaknesses for Christ's sake that Christ's strength is known. God's strength is given to faith, and the work that is done in faith.--It needs a living faith to take pleasure in weaknesses, and in weakness to do our work, knowing that God is working in us. Without seeing or feeling anything, to go on in the confidence of a hidden power working in us--this is the highest exercise of a life of faith. To do God's own work in saving souls, in persevering severing prayer and labor; amid outwardly unfavorable circumstances and appearances still to labor more abundantly--this faith alone can do. Let us be strong in faith, giving glory to God. God will show Himself strong towards him whose heart is perfect with Him. My brother! be willing to yield yourself to the very utmost to God, that His power may rest upon you, may work in you. Do let God work through you. Offer yourself to Him for His work as the one object of your life. Count upon His working all in you, to fit you for His service, to strengthen and bless you in it. Let the faith and love of your Lord Jesus, whose strength is going to be made perfect in your weakness, lead you to live even as He did, to do the Father's will and finish His work. 1. Let every minister seek the full personal experience of Christ's strength made perfect in His weakness: this alone will fit him to teach believers the secret of their strength. 2. Our Lord says: 'My grace, My strength.' It is as, in close personal fellowship and love, we abide in Christ, and have Christ abiding in us, that His grace and strength can work. 3. It is a heart wholly given up to God, to His will and love, that will know his power working in our weakness. (Andrew Murray. Working For God) HUMILITY AND HAPPINESS 2Co 12:9-10 Andrew Murray LEST Paul should exalt himself, by reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was sent him to keep humble. Paul's first desire was to have it removed, and he besought the Lord thrice that it might depart. The answer came that the trial was a blessing; that, in the weakness and humiliation it brought, the grace and strength of the Lord could be the better manifested. Paul at once entered upon a new stage in his relation to the trial: instead Of simply enduring it, he most gladly gloried in it; instead of asking for deliverance, he took pleasure in it. He had learned that the place of humiliation is the place of blessing, of power, of joy. Every Christian virtually passes through these two stages in his pursuit of humility. In the first he fears and flees and seeks deliverance from all that can humble him. He has not yet learnt to seek humility at any cost. He has accepted the command to be humble, and seeks to obey it, though only to find how utterly he fails. He prays for humility, at times very earnestly; but in his secret heart he prays more, if not in word, then in wish, to be kept from the very things that will make him humble. He is not yet so in love with humility as the beauty of the Lamb of God, and the joy of heaven, that he would sell all to procure it. In his pursuit of it, and his prayer for it, there is still Somewhat of a sense of burden and of bondage; to humble himself has not yet become the spontaneous expression of a life and a nature that is essentially humble. It has not yet become his joy and only pleasure. He cannot yet say, ' Most gladly do I glory in weakness, I take pleasure in whatever humbles me.' But can we hope to reach the stage in which this will be the case? Undoubtedly. And what will it be that brings us there? That which brought Paul there, a new revelation of the Lord Jesus. Nothing but the presence of God can reveal and expel self, A clearer insight was to be given to Paul into the deep truth that the presence of Jesus will banish every desire to seek anything in ourselves, and will make us delight in every humiliation that prepares us for His fuller manifestation. Our humiliations lead us, in the experience of the presence and power of Jesus, to choose humility as our highest blessing. Let us try and learn the lessons the story of Paul teaches us. We may have advanced believers, eminent teachers, men of heavenly experiences, who have not yet fully learnt the lesson of perfect humility, gladly glorying in weakness. We see this in Paul. The danger of exalting himself was coming very near. He knew not yet perfectly what it was to be nothing; to die, that Christ alone might live in him; to take pleasure in all that brought him low. It appears as if this were the highest lesson that he had to learn, full conformity to his Lord in that self-emptying where he gloried in weakness that God might be all. The highest lesson a believer has to learn is humility: Oh that every Christian who seeks to advance in holiness may remember this well! There may be intense consecration, and fervent zeal and heavenly experience, and yet, if it is not prevented by very special dealings of the Lord, there may be an unconscious self-exaltation with it all. Let us learn the lesson,--the highest holiness is the deepest humility; and let us remember that it comes not of itself, but only as it is made a matter of special dealing on the part of our faithful Lord and His faithful servant. Let us look at our lives in the light of this experience, and see whether we gladly glory in weakness, whether we take pleasure, as Paul did, in injuries, in necessities, in distresses. Yes, let us ask whether we have learnt to regard a reproof, just or unjust, a reproach from friend or enemy, an injury, or trouble, or difficulty into which others bring us, as above all an opportunity of proving how Jesus is all to us, how our own pleasure or honour are nothing, and how humiliation is in very truth what we take pleasure in. It is indeed blessed, the deep happiness of heaven, to be so free from self that whatever is said of us or done to us is lost and swallowed up in the thought that Jesus is all. Let us trust Him who took charge of Paul to take charge of us too.. Paul needed special discipline, and with it special instruction, to learn, what was more precious than even the unutterable things he had heard in heaven--what it is to glory in weakness and lowliness. We need it, too, oh so much. He who cared for him will care for us too. The school in which Jesus taught Paul is our school too. He watches over us with a jealous, loving care, 'lest we exalt ourselves.' When we are doing so, He seeks to discover to us the evil, and deliver us from it, In trial and weakness and trouble He seeks to bring us low, until we so learn that His grace is all, as to take pleasure in the very thing that brings us and keeps us low. His strength made perfect in our weakness, His presence filling and satisfying our emptiness, becomes the secret of a humility that need never fail. It can, as Paul, in full sight of what God works in us and through us, ever say, ' In nothing was I behind the chiefest apostles, though I am nothing.' His humiliations had led him to true humility, with its wonderful gladness and glorying and pleasure in all that humbles. ' Most gladly will I glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me; wherefore I take pleasure in weaknesses.' The humble man has learnt the secret of abiding gladness. The weaker he feels, the lower he sinks, the greater his humiliations appear, the more the power and the presence of Christ are his portion, until, as he says, ' I am nothing,' the word of his Lord brings ever deeper joy: 'My grace is sufficient for thee.' I feel as if I must once again gather up all in the two lessons: the danger of pride is greater and nearer than we think, and the grace for humility too. The danger of pride is greater and nearer than we think, and that especially at the time of our highest experiences. The preacher of spiritual truth with an admiring congregation hanging on his lips, the gifted speaker on a Holiness platform expounding the secrets of the heavenly life, the Christian giving testimony to a blessed experience, the evangelist moving on as in triumph, and made a blessing to rejoicing multitudes, no man knows the hidden, the unconscious danger to which these are exposed. Paul was in danger without knowing it: what Jesus did for him is written for our admonition, that we may know our danger and know our only safety. If ever it has been said of a teacher or professor of holiness,--he is so full of self; or, he does not practice what he preaches; or, his blessing has not made him humbler or gentler,--let it he said no more. Jesus, in whom we trust, can make us humble. Yes, the grace for humility is greater and nearer, too, than we think. The humility of Jesus is our salvation: Jesus Himself is our humility. Our humility is His care and His work. His grace is sufficient for us, to meet the temptation of pride too. His strength will be perfected in our weakness. Let us choose to be weak, to be low, to be nothing. Let humility be to us joy and gladness. Let us gladly glory and take pleasure in weakness, in all that can humble us and keep us low; the power of Christ will rest upon us. Christ humbled Himself, therefore God exalted Him. Christ will humble us, and keep us humble; let us heartily consent, let us trustfully and joyfully accept all that humbles; the power of Christ will rest upon us. We shall find that the deepest humility is the secret of the truest happiness, of a joy that nothing can destroy. (Andrew Murray. Humility - The Beauty of Holiness)