“I begged the Lord to take it away.”
How many times have you asked God?
“I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times, I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time, he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12: 7-9, NLT)
When life gets tough, and I am exasperated by the lack of change in circumstances, the unclear path ahead, or the healing that alludes, I cry out to God. I pray repeatedly, asking God to intervene, not once, twice, or three times as Paul did. I am determined to make my requests known until the situation is resolved.
How could Paul stop at three?
Because God answered.
Paul pleaded and begged for God to take the “thorn in the flesh” away. His heart was desperate to be rid of the thing that brought him suffering and heartache. With Paul’s argument of all the reasons why God needed to remove the “thorn,” the NLT says each time, God answered.
The other translations do not include the words “each time,” but we can see how God’s reply matched Paul’s request. After a third time of pleading, God’s answer was enough to stop Paul from asking again.
God’s grace is all you need.
The weight of God’s unchanging answer clicked for Paul after three times. God’s grace, displayed through the death and resurrection of His son, Jesus, was enough. Paul understood the role of surrender in receiving God’s abundant grace.
Paul stopped begging for his situation to change because His focus shifted from the pain of the “thorn in his flesh” to the sufficiency of God’s grace. There is a force behind where our attention lies.
My power works best in weakness.
God’s answer did not stop with the words, “My grace is sufficient.” He included an essential element to tapping into God’s power. Our inability or lack of sufficiency is the door to God’s strength.
The depth of God’s answer sunk into Paul’s heart. The truth of God’s grace and strength empowered Paul to shift from trying to explain, promote, and validate who he was to boast about his weaknesses. “So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ can work through me” (2 Corinthians 12:9b, NLT).
There are plenty of scriptures to back up the call for us to be persistent with our prayer requests. The lesson we can learn from Paul is from his willingness to stop asking and surrender when he received an answer from God, even though the response was not what he had hoped.
Whether we are waiting or need to surrender to the answer God has given, God’s grace is all we need.
I pray that a new understanding comes to you about God’s grace. May you surrender your weaknesses and experience God’s strength like never before. May your focus be ever fixed on God’s grace. So be it, in Jesus’ name.
Meditate: God’s grace is all I need.
Reflect: Have you ever received an answer from God you did not like? How did you respond? What does “God’s grace is sufficient” mean to you? What areas of weakness have you missed out on God’s power because you continue to operate out of your own sufficiency? Where do you need to surrender?
Deeper: Isaiah 26: 1-5, 2 Corinthians 12:6-11, Matthew 23:11-12
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(Bible References: NLT – New Living Translation)
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