His Word is Rich!

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"Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me--to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this, I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.' Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore, I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong." --Paul, written in his letter to the church at Corinth

This morning I enjoyed a rich time with the Lord, in which He brought me to this passage, one of my favorites in the last 4 or 5 years. As many times as I've read this passage in the last few years, God brought it to life in a new way for me this morning.

I definitely can relate to Paul's thorn in the flesh, and I've definitely prayed about it a lot more than three times as Paul did, asking God to take it away from me! And more than three times, He has told me and shown me that His grace is sufficient. But He showed me some new things this morning.

First, the thorn in the flesh was from Satan. Now, I definitely knew that in my own life, but it's always nice to have that reminder. Second, it was given to him in order to keep him from exalting himself. When I got to thinking about that, I realized that if I didn't have this thorn in the flesh, I would be like the poster child for growing up in the church, never rebelling, serving God as an adult, etc., which would certainly cause me to boast in myself and exalt myself much more than I already do. But with this thorn, I'm continually humbled, constantly reminded of who I am in relation to who God is. From all of this, I realized that my thorn has a much greater purpose in God's hands. Not only does it keep me from exalting myself, but it allows His power to be perfected in my weakness, thereby pointing myself and others to Him. Because there is purpose in my thorn, I can agree with Paul...most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me." Most gladly. I can honestly say there has never been a day where I think about my thorn most gladly. But now that I can think about the grand purpose of Christ's power (the one that raised Him from the dead!!) dwelling in me, I can think about it most gladly (by His grace of course). Next, Paul says, "Therefore, I am well content with weaknesses...for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong." So now, not only should I view my thorn most gladly, but I should be well content with it. Wow! Why? For Christ's sake.

Now I have a different perspective. Thank you, so much, Abba! Continue helping me actually believe and live this.