The Strength Found in Weakness: Paul’s Message

Posted on by korgrocker

“even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NLT

Is there any benefit in continuing to speculate about Paul’s thorn in his flesh? In a previous blog, we considered some of the possibilities, referring to Scriptures that might have provided a hint or two. We considered his sight, or a tremble, but the description of a “thorn in the flesh” implies a bit more of a physical affliction, perhaps one that is painful or debilitating in another way. Perhaps Paul had some form of mental illness, such as depression, which is a terrible place to be. There is a hint of this in 2 Corinthians 1:8, “We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it”. It may have been another person, causing him constant grief, and there are several examples of this, such as in 1 Timothy 1:20, “Hymenaeus and Alexander are two examples. I threw them out and handed them over to Satan so they might learn not to blaspheme God”. Lastly, some scholars think that Paul was battling with a specific sin, basing their thoughts on what he wrote in Romans 7. But we have to admit that, in the end, we do not know what Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was. And it is perhaps just as well, because if we knew the specifics, it could become something people could have blamed ever since for their spiritual state, even presenting themselves as “super-spiritual” and boasting about it.

The Lord’s response to Paul, every time he pleaded for it to be taken away, was “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness”. And that’s the thing, because it’s all about doing God’s work in His strength, not in our own. We pilgrims have a tendency to battle on in our own strength whenever burdens and obstacles get in our way on our journeys to Glory. Perhaps we experience some difficulty in a relationship or suffer a setback at work. The car breaks down, and we are facing an expensive bill. All situations that are not unusual, but instead of looking to God for a remedy, we jump through mental hoops trying to fix the problem in our own strength. Paul discovered that whenever something got in his way, God had the solution to his problem. His “thorn in the flesh” was an ever-present reminder of God’s strength and his weakness. 

Paul went even further than just being reminded of the power of God. He took pleasure in his weaknesses, “in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that [he suffered] Christ”. His affliction was a constant reminder that God was with him, whatever he was facing, and, let’s face it, Paul had to face some horrendous situations. 

We pilgrims spend too much time living our lives without giving God and His power a second thought, or is it just me? There is so much we take for granted. The basics we receive for life just don’t receive a second thought. We live in our warm homes, enjoying a meal, a warm and soft bed, but do we take time to thank God for His provision? Do we give any thought to those who are homeless, who are hungry, persecuted and in distress? And then when problems do come our way, is the first port of call the doctor’s surgery, or the bank manager? We pilgrims are weak and helpless, when it comes to many things we find in this life, and too often we forget that God is all-powerful and we are all-weak. He is a loving Heavenly Father, who has set a course before us in this life and we must never forget that in our weakness we are yet strong through His power that is within us. Paul wrote, “For when I am weak, then I am strong”. It is the spirit-filled life that he described, and the one that we should be following.

Dear Heavenly Father. Please forgive us for the times when we fail to offer our thanks for Your provision. For the times when we do things in our own strength rather than looking to You. You are the almighty God, but we are overwhelmed that You would adopt children like us. Thank You. Amen.

Solid Ground

Posted on by korgrocker

“Don’t let me suffer the fate of sinners. Don’t condemn me along with murderers. Their hands are dirty with evil schemes, and they constantly take bribes. But I am not like that; I live with integrity. So redeem me and show me mercy. Now I stand on solid ground, and I will publicly praise the Lord.”
Psalm 26:9-12 NLT

David was sure of his footing in God when he wrote the final verse to Psalm 26. Of course, he was referring to his spiritual standing, but I’m sure he felt it extended into his natural world as well. David was going through an euphoric state of mind at that time and all was lovely. His glasses, if he had any in those days, would have been tinted with a wonderful shade of rose. He felt so good about things that he wrote that he would “publicly praise the Lord”. David wrote other Psalms, and the first two verses of one of them read, “I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along” (Psalm 40:1-2). Another time, another place, perhaps, but another occasion when God came through for him. God was always there for David, regardless of his circumstances, and his relationship with the Lord was strong and vibrant, every minute of his days. 

Solid ground is something we humans take for granted. There is no obvious first hand experience of hurtling around a star we call the sun, other than the periods of light and darkness, sunrise and sunset. We build our houses on ground that we assume will be solid and immovable for the years ahead. We compare old photos with those taken today and the same landscape features are still in place. We walk in places with rocks and packed earth and our senses tell us that we are in the presence of “solid ground”. But that is all in line with our local natural world. Things get a bit wobblier, however, when we consider the state of the world and news reports of wars and famines, earthquakes and fires. In these circumstances we become a bit less sure. There is a tendency to stick our heads in the sand and hope things will blow over, and that is a human trait also present in the Old Testament times. In the days of Amos, one of the Minor Prophets, the Israelites were ignoring the political situation of the world immediately around them. Amos 6: 1, 3, 7, “What sorrow awaits you who lounge in luxury in Jerusalem, and you who feel secure in Samaria! You are famous and popular in Israel, and people go to you for help. … You push away every thought of coming disaster, but your actions only bring the day of judgment closer. … Therefore, you will be the first to be led away as captives. Suddenly, all your parties will end“. The people in Israel denied anything bad was going to happen and continued to behave in the sinful and evil way that was their norm. Yes, the ground wasn’t literally shaking but their society was, and soon after Amos’ prophetic messages, God allowed them to be led away into exile. 

Jesus told the parable of a rich and successful businessman farmer, who had enjoyed a bumper crop that year and had to build new barns to hold it all. His conclusion was that this gave him “solid ground” for his retirement and he was going to spend it all partying. He said to himself, “ … My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!” (Luke 12:19). Unfortunately for him, though, something was about to happen that would disrupt his plans. The next verse in Jesus’ story is, “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’” The “solid ground” underpinning his retirement plans suddenly imploded and he found himself in a place in Sheol where he could not access the fruits of his labours. 

In our natural world we know statistically that the ground we assume is solid is most likely going to still be solid tomorrow and the next day. Yes, there may be an impact from an asteroid, or something else may fall from the sky disrupting our assumptions, but these are unlikely events, not to be considered by even the most paranoid amongst us. We have enough to worry about in our daily lives. What we should be concerned about, though, is the ground we are standing on in the spiritual world we live in. Regardless of what will happen to this planet, our souls will survive and go on living for all eternity. So we need to ensure that we are standing on the ground God has supplied for us. The Bible talks about God being our Rock. David wrote, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my saviour; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety” (Psalm 18:2). He repeats this theme in Psalm 62:2, “He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken“, referring of course to the Lord, His God. 

Jesus also taught about having a solid foundation to our faith. Matthew 7:24-25, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock“. We pilgrims are believers with a faith founded on Jesus’ teaching, a faith that will survive everything and anything that comes against us. There is plenty of troubles in human lives but through God and His promises we will survive all of them. Regardless of what we are going through, God is there with us, step by step. Sharing our pain. Feeling our sorrows. Empathising with our needs. We are like the Israelite slaves, fearing the pursuing Egyptian army, but listening to Moses as he said, “ .. Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again” (Exodus 14:13). Paul referred to Moses and the Israelites’ miraculous journey through the wilderness when he wrote, “All of them ate the same spiritual food, and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that travelled with them, and that rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:3-4).

The Lord is our Rock because we can trust in Him. He is also our strength (Ephesians 6:10), and we who believe in Him find a place of safety in Him, just as David did all those years ago. Can I ask a question, dear fellow pilgrims? What ground are you standing on today? Let us not be complacent and instead continue our journey in fear of the Lord, trusting in Him and His promises.

Dear Father God. Only You are the Rock worth standing on. All other ground is nothing more than quicksand. Thank You for Your strength and presence. Amen.

God is My Strength

Posted on by korgrocker

“O Lord, do not stay far away! You are my strength; come quickly to my aid! Save me from the sword; spare my precious life from these dogs. Snatch me from the lion’s jaws and from the horns of these wild oxen.”
Psalm 22:19-21 NLT

It is almost as though David has suddenly woken up and has now realised that God is there for him, able to save him from whatever caused his terrible vision of crucifixion. In distress and under attack he must have been, but he knew that God was his strength. But what did he mean by that? David spent much time with God, during those years looking after his father’s sheep. Instead of wiling away the time in pointless ways, David pulled out his harp or whistle, and worshiped God in the long hours. In those formative years, David learned much about God and how He helped him in times of need. We read the story of when Goliath was taunting the Israelite army and David ended up in front of King Saul. We can pick up the story in 1 Samuel 17:32, ““Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!”” Saul’s response in the next verse emphasises David’s youth, ““Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”” But the next three verses were very telling, “But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God!” (1 Samuel 17:24-26).‭‭ David knew all about his capabilities because God had repeatedly been his strength in a time of need. David knew that when faced with a seemingly overwhelming and fearful opponent, such as a bear or lion, God was his strength, and his relationship was such that he knew God would help him defeat this Philistine. He said to Saul, “The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!” Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!”” (1 Samuel 17:37).

Psalm 22, however, paints a picture of a different enemy to that of a bear, lion or even a Goliath. In Psalm 22:12-13 he wrote, “My enemies surround me like a herd of bulls; fierce bulls of Bashan have hemmed me in! Like lions they open their jaws against me, roaring and tearing into their prey”. And while facing this terrible situation, David had a vision of what his enemies would do to him. He did what we all do – get bogged down in imagining the consequences and what might happen, before we think of God. And isn’t it amazing that even when our enemies or difficult situations haven’t yet appeared, we start imagining what might happen if they did. The “wee small hours”, while we are supposed to be asleep, can become an imaginary battleground, where we stand in a place of potential danger, like the carpet in the boss’s office, or before the bank manager, and it is there that we generate various scenarios in our minds of the worst possible outcomes, and before we know it, we are living every terrible moment as if we have lost our jobs or are having to face into the consequences of bankruptcy.

There is another Psalm that I have turned to in times of distress in the past – Psalm 91. we read, “Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day” (Psalm 91:3-5). A picture of God’s all-encompassing protection and salvation. But it was verse 7 that God revealed to me one day when the company I was working for had announced the necessity for redundancies. It reads, “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you“. How that promise of God encouraged me, and I indeed was kept safe from losing my job.

The Apostle Paul, like David, also knew about God being his strength. We read in Philippians 4:12-13, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength“. 

We pilgrims are convinced of God’s strength in every aspect of our lives. In fact, we know that God is so strong that He will bring us home one day regardless of our challenges and circumstances. What is there to fear? Yes, our fleshly nature sometimes rises up and gives us grief, but in the end God will prevail over all the odds. We are on the winning side, forever.

Dear Heavenly Father. You are a strong tower and we can always run to You in times of attack. We thank You today. Amen.