Theme: Are you defined by your troubles or by Christ’s power?
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
It’s really a
remarkable thing to see how humans respond to adversity. Humans have an amazing
capacity to deal with difficult circumstances. God gives us in our bodies and
minds the ability to take a lot of hardship, even though we don’t always do it.
This resiliency in humans is recognized by everyone. From an evolutionary perspective,
this quality developed from millions of years of struggle and conflict, and in
the end the human species proved to be the most resilient of all. Even today,
evolutionists praise the durability of the human spirit.
That
explanation of the human ability to cope with hardships is only grasping in the
dark for answers. God tells us where our resiliency as a species came from. He
created us in His image and placed us higher than the animals and plants.
Humans are God’s highest form of creation and have the capacity to endure, not
because they are special of their own accord, but because God has given them
this ability to live to the honor and glory of His name.
One of the
ways this resiliency shows itself is by displaying strength in the midst of
weakness. This often happens today in the case of disease. Humans show their
strength by standing up to the difficulties that come with sickness and
disease. It all comes down to what you are defined by. What is your motivation
in life? How do you characterize yourself? Do others know you by your
weaknesses or by your strengths? Human resiliency does not want to be
characterized by limitations, instead it wants to display power and ability.
There’s no
shortage of examples that we see from day to day that demonstrate this. In our
culture of increasing communication the resiliency of humans is used as
encouragement day after day. I remember one famous quote from a media
personality who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He said, “When you die, it does not mean that you
lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the
manner in which you live.” That’s displaying strength and resiliency in the
face of affliction. This individual showed the capacity to cope with
difficulties, even those out of his control, by standing up to the challenge
and refusing to be defined by his weakness.
We encourage
such a positive attitude but we can’t deny reality either. Regardless of how
defiant we are in the face of sicknesses, death is reality for everyone, there
is no escaping it. David, a man who knew the reality of death well, wrote in
Psalm 39: "LORD, reveal to me the
end of my life and the number of my days. Let me know how short-lived I am. 5
You, indeed, have made my days short in length, and my life span as nothing in
Your sight. Yes, every mortal man is only a vapor. 6 "Certainly, man walks
about like a mere shadow. Indeed, they frantically rush around in vain, gathering
possessions without knowing who will get them.”
Having a
positive attitude in adversity is always best, but it’s difficult when reality
lurks on the horizon. A resilient attitude, while commendable, doesn’t change
the fact that we suffer from a problem that is beyond our control. We can deal
with the minor problems of life. There are some sicknesses that we can now
control to an extent through modern medicine. But all difficulties boil down to
one problem, and that’s sin. We don’t even need to go into depth about all the
physical problems that we don’t have a solution for, sin is the one cause of
them all. If you don’t have a way to deal with sin, then it doesn’t matter what
you have for any of the other problems in life, big or small.
A courageous
and resilient human spirit cannot cope with sin. There is only one hope, and
that is the work of Jesus Christ. If we deny Jesus, it doesn’t matter how
courageous or defiant we are in worldly problems, because eventually we will be
defined by our limitations. The only way to escape succumbing to our
weaknesses, is to have the power of Christ. And the only way to have the power
of Christ is through faith that is established and strengthened by God’s Word.
This is true
not only when it comes the end of our lives, or the really serious problems of
the world, but also in the little, day to day things. Any type of hardship that
comes our way is a result of sin, and a reminder of sin. In this way, the
little problems of day to day life are kind of like scars. They remind us of
where we’ve been and what we’ve endured, but they also help us learn for the
future. We think of the scars that come with sin and they are present with us
every day, but we don’t have to be defined by them. Sin does not have to be the
theme of our lives, because we have access to the power of Christ.
Our verses
today speak of how Paul refused to be labeled by the ailment he had, He was
powerful in Christ even though he had a very serious physical problem. We’re not
told the exact details about what Paul suffered from, because it doesn’t really
matter. The entire point of this section is that Paul was not defined by the
hindrances of sin. And when Paul spoke, he carried more authority than simply
speaking from His human spirit. He had the authority and power of His Savior,
because it was Christ’s power that rested upon Paul. By faith, when Paul’s
weakness revealed itself, it was a testament to God’s strength and glory more
than a testament to the effects of sin. God’s power outweighs our limitations.
How do we
respond in similar situations? Are we content to leave things to God or do we
allow ourselves to be defined by our limitations? Chances are we’ve never had a
thorn in the flesh quite like Paul did. In the previous chapter we hear about
many of the hardships he endured. He was a frequent resident in prisons. Five
times he received 39 lashings from his Jewish opponents. He was beaten with
rods on three occasions. He was stoned once. He was stranded in the sea after a
shipwreck, and he confronted numerous other perils in his journeys. And yet,
despite all of these difficulties, the one thing Paul singles out is this
“thorn in the flesh.” It bothered him so much that he pleaded with the Lord three
times for relief.
Have you ever endured
so much? Personally, I know I haven’t. And yet, I’m usually more than willing
to be defined by my limitations, insignificant as they are. The big temptation
in focusing on our limitations is that we receive attention. When we dwell on
all the hardships of life and tell others about it, we’re more likely to
receive sympathy, and that feels good. It feels good to be recognized by others
and to know that others are thinking about you, even if it’s for the wrong
reasons. In this way, our society has really softened. It’s become much more
popular to the defined by struggles rather than work through them. It’s much
easier to complain until someone listens rather than going about your day doing
the right thing without anyone noticing. It’s become so common for us to be
defined by what’s going wrong in life, rather than being thankful for the many
blessings we have.
We must
confess that we have allowed sin and its effects to have a tighter grip on our
lives than they should, especially for the selfish reason of gaining attention
from others. We want others to look at all we’re doing or enduring and tell us
how impressed they are at what great people we are. Often Christianity today is
defined by what we are able to endure, rather than what Christ endured on our
behalf. According to this definition, the status of Christianity becomes a
measure of me as an individual and my own resiliency, rather than the Lord’s
strength and power.
This problem
was present in Paul’s life too, and he understood it. That’s why, even though
he pleaded for relief from his ailment, he ultimately understood the purpose
behind it. God was humbling Paul so that he would not boast in himself. As a
Christian leader Paul probably received a lot of praise and thanks from his
fellow believers. As an apostle, gifted with “an abundance of revelations” as he put it, there was a temptation
to fall into the sin of pride. So, the Lord used this thorn in the flesh to
humble Paul and reveal true power through Christ.
We may not
suffer from the same problems. Paul certainly didn’t live in an age where being
a Christian was easy. His immediate danger was not complacency as it is for us.
Given all of his hardships he certainly didn’t live a soft and cushy life. But
God teaches us the same lesson in our lives, even though our problems don’t
perfectly mirror Paul’s. When you encounter hardships, do you ever stop to
think about what God might be trying to tell you?
·
Is there a chance that you’re getting too soft in your spiritual life?
·
Might you be complaining a bit too much instead of being thankful?
·
Could it be that you are allowing yourself to be defined by the scars
of life, rather than the Lord’s power?
·
Is it possible that you’re focusing too much on yourself, rather than
staying connected to God’s Word?
·
Do you ever spend more time seeking your own attention rather than
giving all the attention to God?
If you take
the time to stop and think about it, it’s usually pretty easy to see what the
Lord is doing. He may allow sicknesses and struggles to come your way, but He
has a greater plan through them. Paul, through the Lord’s grace, was able to
recognize the Lord’s plan in his life. You can do the same. Use this example
from Paul for help. Learn from his past experiences, because you share in the
same struggles. And more importantly, you share in the same solution to sin. Your
life can be defined the very same way Paul’s was, not by your limitations, but
by your Savior from sin.
When we plead
to the Lord, we too can know as Paul did that He will never be silent. We may
not always get the answer we are requesting, but God always responds. God will
never return silent, He is continually speaking to us through His Word. That is
where we find the answers to our questions. We often think that God will always
work through the events of life. He is certainly able to point us to things or
give us answers through life’s events. But the Word is the most powerful
resource because God speaks to us directly through it. The problem we often have
with the Word is that the more we use it, the more difficulties come our way.
The stronger we confess, especially in the unpopular areas of God’s wisdom, the
more the world will fight against us. To endure these setbacks, we need
strength, and it doesn’t always feel like we get that from God’s Word. Often we
are tempted to believe that God is silent. But, just as Paul said, when we are
weak, Christ is strong. He displays His strength through our limitations. It’s
not the glamourous fanfare that our sinful flesh craves, but it is the
effective power of Jesus. We may not get the attention we want when we stand
firm in His Word but we do gain a much greater gift – true spiritual strength.
Therefore, we
echo the same theme as Paul, we find our boast not in ourselves, but in Christ.
Not only should we be willing to suffer shame for being a Christian, we should
expect it. Scars will always be present from a variety of foes in the world.
And those scars remind us and learn from them. But they don’t define us. In
Christ, we are much more than what the world does to us.
Even in the
final days of his life, Paul was defined by Jesus. As he sat in prison, he
wrote to Timothy: “For I am already
being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the
faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the
Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but
also to all who have loved His appearing (2 Timothy 4:6-8).” Many believe
these were some of Paul’s last words to his fellow Christians. Even in a moment
of what seemed like complete defeat, Paul was confident in the work of Christ.
He was content to have his life “poured
out as a drink offering” for the Lord’s glory. What a strange attitude to
have in the midst of such affliction! Ever since Paul became a Christian, he
encountered hardship after hardship. It was a never ending assault by Satan who
must have been so angry that God converted Paul of all people, and turned him
from an agent of evil to an agent of righteousness. What a rare gift of
contentment! Where did it come from?
It’s in our
text, it comes from God Himself when He said to Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in
weakness.” What a beautiful thought! The Lord’s grace is enough for us,
literally we can be content with it, no matter what else is going on. God’s
grace is not something we talk boldly about but in the back of our minds know
that it holds no power. God’s grace is not like our natural human resiliency
that looks good on the outside, and is commendable in human’s eyes, but has no
strength against sin. Those who have Christ don’t lead double lives, one as a Christian
and one as a regular person in the world. His grace holds the day. His grace is
sufficient for us, in good times and in bad. And we are defined by it. Amen.
The peace of
God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ
Jesus. Amen.
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