Every Day With God

Read 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

In the previous chapter, Paul gave quite a list of difficulties he had experienced as a servant of Christ.  But, rather than whining about them because God owed him a bed of roses, he seemed to embrace them, even boasting in them.  From that chapter, we pointed out that adversity is often part of the will of God for us.  We can accept that, knowing that He loves us infinitely.

Still, there was yet one thing that didn’t make Paul’s list in the eleventh chapter.  It sees set apart as if it hit deeper, hurt more, and held a different purpose.  We cannot be 100% certain of its exact nature.  Paul only describes it as a “thorn in the flesh.”  It was Satan’s little messenger to him.  It harassed him, perhaps causing him relentless discomfort.

About this particularly burdensome malady Paul prayed.  There was apparently no response.  He prayed a second time.  Again, the thorn seemed unchanged and heaven remained silent.  Have you ever experienced the silence of heaven?  You are calling, but no one is picking up.  Perhaps you don’t even sense the reassuring voicemail that promises, “. . . I’ll get back with you, as soon as I can . . .”

And then, Paul prayed a third time.  This time, a response came.  It wasn’t the one for which Paul had prayed.  Nope, the thorn was still there.  But, neither was it a hardened, “Quit complaining and deal with it!”  Instead, it was a statement that reassured him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  Sufficient grace.  Perfecting power.

Was that a promise unique to this single thorn of the apostle Paul?  Paul certainly didn’t interpret it that way.  In the next two verses, he is quick to apply it to every adversity he faced.  He was comforted in knowing that, though God’s will may take him down a path other than he would prefer, still, at his greatest point of weakness, there would be divine strength.

And that same strength-giving grace is available to you when God allows you to go down a path you would not plan for yourself.

Steve Kern

Read 2 Corinthians 11:16-33

“And this is what I get as one of your children?”  “This is the thanks I receive for the ways I served you?”

Though you may have never verbally expressed those statements to God, they may have crossed your mind or you may have heard others essentially say those words.  Generally, they are contemplated/whispered/spoken in the aftermath of some undesirable experience.

Funny, isn’t it, that those kinds of remarks didn’t seem to cross the Apostle Paul’s mind in 2 Corinthians 11 or 12?  Talk about one who had served . . . indeed, he had done so.  He spoke to countless people about Christ, saw many of them come to faith, discipled them in their walk with Christ, developed leaders from among them, and coached them as growing congregations.  He did this over and over again.

And what did he get?  Sounds like, prison cells, bodily scars, near death experiences, and an occasional empty stomach.

Rather than voicing the lines suggested above . . . the lines voiced by many . . . he listed off his experiences as if they were medals of honor hanging on his jacket as a soldier of Christ.  He seemed to remember what we often forget.

• “In this world you will have trouble . . .”  (Jn. 16:33)
• “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”  (Matt. 5:11, 12)

As one who has pondered the kind of responses written above in the throes of the realities of life, I want to clearly include myself in a collective “we.”  Is it possible that we have wrongly assumed that life or God somehow owes us only sunshine, smiles, and ice cream cones?  Is it possible that one of the most important steps we may ever take towards understanding the world in which we live might be grappling with this?

God will sometimes allow us to experience things that we would not choose ourselves.

And I can be OK with that because I know that He loves me.

Steve Kern

Read 2 Corinthians 2:12-17

Often when we desire to know the will of God, we are asking Him to make His leading clear to us.  Perhaps we are at a fork in the road, uncertain of which path to take.

Paul experienced that as well.  What were two options he faced?

1. Open doors in Troas – This open door offered Paul the freedom to share the gospel and perhaps a fruitful harvest for Christ.  This was the very thing that Paul asked the Colossians to pray for (Col. 4:2-4).  This was something he reveled in while in Ephesus (1 Cor. 16:9).  This was what Paul as an apostle lived for.
2. Heartfelt concern for Titus – Titus was a dear friend of Paul.  He was one of Paul’s spiritual children.  To Titus, he had passed along a rich spiritual heritage and he had entrusted great responsibility.  But Titus wasn’t there as anticipated.  Titus represented his information link with the struggling Corinthian church.

So, what do you do?  How do you make such a decision?  Which path do you take?

For Paul it came down to this:  “I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia” (v. 13).

His decision was based on a sense of inner peace.

Peace.  Now that can be difficult to gauge and measure.  If we allow it to happen, we can have false peace based on the wrong kinds of information.  If we aren’t careful, we can convince ourselves that we are at peace with a decision that is contrary to the will of God expressed clearly in the Bible.

Nevertheless, peace is possible.  If we are walking in the Spirit, we will possess that peace (Gal. 5:22, 23).  If we convert our anxious thoughts into prayerful requests to God, He delivers that peace (Phil. 4:6, 7).  This inner peace that is connected to the heart of God can be a powerful leading force in your life.

Do you need to pause and ask God for that now?

Steve Kern