2 Corinthians 12:5-6 - That experience is something worth bragging
about, but I am not going to do it. I am going to boast only about how weak I
am and how great God is to use such weakness for his glory. I
have plenty to boast about and would be no fool in doing it, but I don’t want
anyone to think more highly of me than he should from what he can actually see
in my life and my message.
Paul took more than one chapter to address the problem the many
false prophets that were rising up in Corinth…and trying to win the church
community to doctrine not completely based on the Bible. God allowed him many
supernatural experiences to help him prove that only his words were true…but
Paul did not accept any praise or elevation for this favor of God. He chose instead to give all the glory to God…and
brag about how God took his human weaknesses and used them to help others.
Paul did not go into detail about the ‘thorn’ that God had
refused to take away from his physical body….but we know that it was obvious….causing
him great anguish at times…even to the point that he asked God to remove it
from his life…three separate times. God
said no each time….choosing to let this physical aliment remind Paul of who was
in charge of his life….keeping him humble… allowing God a tool to keep his
heart soft enough to mold into what God could use the most at each moment of
his life.
God uses the thorns he allows in our life to teach us. He builds Christian love and character… He deepens our faith…He molds us into usable
vessels…humble enough to always know that it is God’s power that allows
anything we do to be revered as great. He uses our thorns to teach us how to
come to him in worship…recharging each time we are in His presence so that we
can be obedient in the nest task He calls us to do.
I am learning as Paul to be happy with the thorns God allows
in life. I will admit that it is not easy…but when I accept the thorn with
humility …it brings about a great feeling of inner strength that can’t be
described in any human terms. The peace that God promised in Philippians 4:7…passes
all my human understanding and washes over any doubt… pain… or worry that I may
have harbored….and God takes over from there.
Father...thank you for the thorns of life you say no to
removing from my life. Forgive me for the
times that I have allowed the forces of the world to make my heart bitter and
hard and refuse to accept the thorn as a good thing in my life. Help me to trust in you so completely that I
look forward to thorns as a teaching tool and an opportunity for the world to
see your great power manifest in these dark times. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment