Instruction
Scripture: 2Corinthians 12:1-10
Some people in Corinth were calling Paul’s credentials into
question, claiming that they were greater than him. Paul pointed to his life
and ministry boasting of even greater faithfulness and revelations. In this
section he continued to boast, but quickly turned to what kept him humble – a
“thorn” in his flesh and God’s refusal to remove it from him. The message that
Paul received regarding the removal of this thorn shows us the main point of
this section: “My grace is sufficient for you.”
Teaching
People are often boastful about what they are good at. We
boast about the good things we have, too. But who would boast about trials,
weakness, and frustration? Apparently, Paul did. In this passage he speaks of “the
surpassing greatness of the revelations” he received from God. This is
something we would be excited about, but what he goes on to boast about is his
weakness. Why would he do that?
Paul had learned that his strength was insufficient. He
needed Jesus’ strength. What did he need that strength for? His salvation. To
overcome temptation. To endure suffering. To go about the mission God had given
him. To evangelize. To preach. To teach. In all of these areas of his life, he
found himself to be insufficient when he relied on himself. But when he
accepted his weakness, then he found he was strong because Jesus worked in and
through him. It is Christ’s strength that matters, not Paul’s or ours.
Even Jesus’ strength was displayed in weakness. He won the
victory over our sin by dying for us. He humbled himself and submitted to his
Father’s will and did not exert his strength, but wholly gave himself over to
weakness and death to save us, trusting his Father to raise him up.
Life
We often beat ourselves up when we crumble under temptation.
We try to live life and face our troubles under our own strength and we are
left feeling guilty and shamed. So what do we do? Too often we set our chins
and determine to be better, to be stronger, and to get it right next time.
What would happen if we accepted that we don’t have the
strength to be the people God calls us to be? Not as an excuse for bad
behavior, but just accepting the reality. And then what would happen if we,
knowing our guilt, weakness, and insufficiency, clung to God’s word, “My grace
is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Would not our
weakness be the very place that we see God’s power at work in us? The place
where God’s glorious forgiveness is experienced?
Prayer
This prayer is written
in the theme of Petition.
Father in Heaven, your power is made perfect in weakness.
Help us to know our weakness and embrace it in such a way that we know your
power more clearly in our lives. Let the power of Christ rest on us and on all
your people, so that we will not rely on our own strength but only on the grace
that you revealed in Jesus’ death on the cross. When we are tempted to boast,
turn our eyes upon what you have done and away from our own deeds. Help us to
be content in weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. We
only ask that as we go through them we may experience your power and grace and
that it may be revealed to others as you work in our lives. Amen.
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