1 November 29, 2009 My Grace Is Sufficient for You 2 Corinthians 12:9 Please open your Bible to 2 Corinthians 12:9. (9) But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." Paul wrote those words, while he was under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In previous verses, Paul described his credentials and his hardship in life. Paul was a welleducated, influential leader, but that didn't protect him from adversity. In fact, Paul's special calling by God attracted trouble. Paul was a target for persecution. Men and Satan did everything they could to stop Paul's preaching. Verse 7 tells us that Paul had a thorn in the flesh. Based on Paul's writings, some Bible scholars believe Paul's thorn in the flesh was poor eyesight, stuttering, or physical weakness. I believe the thorn in the flesh was much more diabolical than that. Verse 7 says, "A thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me." It's clear the thorn was a messenger of Satan. The word translated messenger is angelos. It appears almost 200 times in the New Testament. Five percent of the time it is translated messenger. Ninety-five percent of the time, it is translated angel. I believe Paul's thorn in the flesh was a fallen angel who followed Paul to harass him. This demon of Satan constantly tried to destroy Paul and the power of his preaching. This messenger of Satan stirred up trouble everywhere Paul went. Paul was beaten, stoned, imprisoned, and endangered because of the work of this demonic thorn. Paul had thorns in his life. Our lives have thorns, don't they? Some of our thorns are minor. I injured my neck in college. It hurts all of the time. That's a minor thorn in the flesh. A confrontational coworker can be a thorn in the flesh. Some of our thorns may be major. We may have chronic financial, health, grief, or relationship problems. Some of our thorns may be life threatening. Some of our thorns may be in the spiritual realm, as Paul's was. Ephesians 6:12 tells us we wrestle against spiritual forces of evil. Paul asked God to remove his thorn, but God didn t remove it. Always remember
2 that God is all-knowing. He knows what is best for us. Always remember that God is sovereign. That means he is the ultimate authority in every situation. He can do whatever he wants. Putting all-knowing and sovereign together, we can be confident that God will always chose to do what he knows to be best for us and his kingdom. Paul asked God to remove the thorn. Verse 8 tells us he pleaded with the Lord three times to remove the hardship. God had a better idea. God had a purpose in allowing the fallen angel to harass Paul continually. In Verse 7, we get a hint why God left the thorn in place. Verse 7 tells us it was so that Paul wouldn't become conceited as a result of his revelations about heaven. I believe there is a more important reason why God didn't remove the satanic harassment. I believe the harassment of the evil messenger forced Paul into situations that resulted in him writing most of the New Testament. God saw the greater good of leaving the thorn in the flesh as a reality in Paul's life. Whatever the reason, God decided to allow the messenger to harass Paul. Three times, Paul asked God to remove the thorn. Three times God said, "No." God had a bigger plan. Three times Jesus asked God to remove the cup of the crucifixion. Three times God said, "No, I have a bigger plan." Aren't you glad God said, "No." Our all-knowing, sovereign God chose what was best for us, not what was easiest for Jesus. Can we translate that truth into our lives? When we ask God to remove our thorns, can we recognize that God is all-knowing. He knows what is best. Can we acknowledge that God is sovereign? He is the ultimate authority in every situation. Can we accept that God may say, "No, I have a bigger plan?" Can we be content that God's answer is the best, even though it may not be the easiest. Like Paul, we may ask God to remove our thorns. We may plead several times. As with Paul, God may say what he said in Verse 9. "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." God didn't remove Paul's thorn, but he did provide relief to Paul. God provided sufficient grace to endure the harassment of the evil spirit that sought to hinder Paul. Do you have any doubt that God's grace was sufficient to comfort, strengthen, and empower Paul to rise above the thorn in the flesh? Do you have any doubt that God will do the same for us, if he chooses not to remove our thorns?
3 God provided his grace to Paul. Grace was a much better answer than it would have been to remove the calamity. Through his grace, God would support Paul. God would not allow Paul to sink exhausted under his trials. Paul had nothing to fear. This sound bite from Paul's prayer life is a very instructive lesson about prayer. It shows that we are not to expect that God will answer all our prayers literally, and we shouldn't be disappointed or disheartened if they aren t. It is a matter of fact that not all prayers offered in faith are answered exactly. Paul s thorn in the flesh is one of the instances in the Bible in which the fervent prayer of a good man, offered undoubtedly in faith, was not answered in the form in which he desired. However, Paul's prayer was substantially answered in the assurance of grace sufficient to support him and help him bare the harassment of the messenger of Satan. The affliction wasn't removed, but there was a promise that the favor of Christ would be shown to Paul constantly, and that he would find God s grace to be more than enough. God s grace is always more than enough. If Paul had God s grace, he could endure any trial, no matter how severe. Because we have the same assurance of God's grace, we can welcome affliction, and rejoice when calamities come upon us. It is a sufficient answer to our prayers if we have the solemn promise of the Lord that he will hold us up and never let us sink under the burden of our heavy trials. We would prefer that God would remove the trial, but God may have a bigger plan involving his sustaining grace. When I was in elementary school, I accidentally hit a kid in the eye during a dirt clod fight. I hid under my bed. I asked God to remove the fear instantly. Comfort didn t come immediately, because God was teaching me about being careful. God had a plan that was bigger than the quick and easy answer I desired. When I was in High School, I got sick at the start of baseball season. I asked God to heal me quickly. Weeks later, I was still out of action, because God was making me grateful for health and physical ability. God had a plan that was bigger than my plan. When I was in college, I got a bright red rash on part of my face. The rash drew a lot of unwanted attention for months. I asked God to remove the embarrassing rash. He said, No, my grace is sufficient for you. I want you to become sensitive to how other
4 people feel when they have a visible infirmity. God s plan for clear perspective was bigger than my plan for clear complexion. In each instance, I asked God for instant relief from my thorn in the flesh. Each time, God said, No, I m more interested in your character than your comfort. What is your thorn in the flesh? Like Paul, is it frequent oppression from Satan s kingdom, perhaps in the form of relentless temptation? Is it a physical problem? Is it financial? Is it relationship friction? Is it worry? Is it depression? God may remove the thorn quickly, or he may whisper, My grace is sufficient for you. Be content with God s answer. He s all-knowing. He s sovereign. He will do what s best. Don t grumble. Instead, trust him completely. I love the part of Verse 9 that we have studied so far this morning. God s grace is sufficient for us. That nugget is a treasure from Scripture. Praise the Lord, there s more treasure to discover this morning, so let s go on. The next part of Verse 9 says, For my power is made perfect in weakness. First, we looked at grace. Not just any grace, God s grace. Now, we ll look at power. Not just any power, God s power. When we encounter thorns in life, we aren t on our own to endure and conquer the difficulty in our strength. We have access to God s power. Let s look at the power that God applies to our circumstances when we become tangled in the thorns of life. The New Testament wasn t written in English. It was written in Greek. The Greek word translated power is dunamis. From dunamis we get our word dynamite. Dunamis means enormous, miraculous power. If I brought a foot long candle to church and pulled out a match to light it during the sermon, everyone would sit quietly in anticipation of the glow. If I held a match near a foot long stick of dynamite, everyone would evacuate in anticipation of the blow. We know about the power of dynamite. God possesses power that is far greater than the power of dynamite. When God spoke, the universe came into being, the Red Sea parted, and people rose from the dead. God doesn t lack power. He has enormous, miraculous power, and he s willing to apply that power to our lives in the way that is best for his kingdom and us. Verse 9 says God s power is made perfect in weakness. What does that mean?
5 Albert Barnes, a Bible scholar from the 1800s, wrote, The strength which God imparts to his people is more commonly and more completely manifested when his people feel that they are weak. It is not imparted to those who feel that they are strong and who do not realize their need of divine aid. It is not so completely manifested to those who are vigorous and strong as to the feeble. It is when we are conscious that we are feeble, and when we feel our need of aid, that God manifests his power to uphold, and imparts his purest consolations. The word perfect means complete. God s power is always ready to be applied. When God sends that power to our circumstances, the application is perfect or complete. The first person to arrive here this morning encountered a dark church. Darkness is a type of weakness. We can stumble and fall in the weakness of darkness. Electrical power was available, but it wasn t in operation. The power wasn t perfect or complete. When the light switch was flipped, the electrical circuit was completed, and the already-present power was applied perfectly. The power became perfect in weakness. God s power is like that. There are dark, thorny corners in our lives. God s power is always present to help us endure our weakness. If we will flip the switch to his help, the circuit will become complete and power will shine light into our lives. Because God s grace is sufficient, he makes his power perfect or complete in our weakness. As with Paul, God may not remove our thorns, but his power will be made perfect in our weakness. His grace and power will sustain us in any circumstance. Verse 9 concludes with Paul rejoicing in his weaknesses. He boasted about the troubles that Satan s messenger continually brought into his life. Because of those troubles, Paul could boast about Christ s power. A man named Jim was called to the hospital to visit Don who had been in a tragic accident. Don s teenage daughter had unintentionally backed over him while he was working on the family car. Don was paralyzed from the neck down. Jim said he was shocked when he walked into the hospital room and saw Don for the first time. A stainless steel halo was fastened to his shaved head with long screws. Tubes and wires monitoring his vital signs sprouted from his shrunken frame. His skin was pale and his breathing was shallow. Jim said he did his best to make small talk but felt uncomfortable and inadequate.
6 What in the world could he say to encourage a man who would never move anything but the muscles in his face? How could he inspire a man who had seemingly lost everything? Jim said that after a few minutes of fidgeting, the only thing he could think to do was pray. So, he asked Don if it would be OK for him to pray. Don whispered yes and then asked Jim to come close to the bed so he could see his face. Don looked directly into Jim s eyes and said, Jim, I want you to know that I believe God s sovereignty will never take me to a place where his grace can t sustain me. He told Jim that even though he d never stand again, or hug his wife, or walk his daughter down the aisle, he knew with all his heart that God still loved him. His quiet but confident voice rose above the hum of the machines sustaining his broken body. He talked about God s goodness in spite of his circumstances. Don s story, and countless others like it, point to the truth that our heavenly Father s compassion for us will never fade or fail, no matter what painful circumstances we face in this world. God is good. He's compassionate. No matter what happens in our lives, God will either remove the thorn or give us the grace to face it, so we can glorify him in every situation. Is trouble stalking you? Is a storm of problems pelting you? Are you drowning in despair? Are the hounds of hopelessness on your heals? Do you have a thorn in your flesh? Listen. God is speaking. Here's what he's saying. "My grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in your weakness."