Brought to my Knees

 

 

 

"Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn't get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan's angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! 8 At first I didn't think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, 9 and then he told me,

My grace is enough; it's all you need.

My strength comes into its own in your weakness.

Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. 10 Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size — abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become."  2 Cor 12:7-10

(from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)

 

Other than the Lord Jesus Christ, there was not a more powerful or influential  figure than the Apostle Paul.  He went from being Saul, the persecutor/murderer of Christians, to being the Super Apostle  who wrote 2/3rds of the New Testament.  He was one of the great (if not the greatest) missionaries of the early church.  He shared the gospel first with the Jew, and then with the Gentiles.  He traveled widely in his day, making disciples, starting, and equipping churches. 

Because of the powerful call on his life, the Lord anointed him and gifted him beyond  most.  He was honored to have been taken up into the 3rd  heaven.  We do not know if he died, and was brought back- or if he had a near-death encounter.  Or if he possibly had a vision.  Regardless of the means, he saw inexplicable and inexpressible glory.  No doubt this vision was needed to carry him through the strong persecution that would come to him during his ministry. He claims that it was given to him to keep him from being conceited.

There is much speculation about what this "messenger of Satan" is.  I have heard scholars postulate that it was blindness, malaria, or a sickness that brought him near death.  Others thought  possibly a horrific beating.   None of us truly know, but one thing we do know, is that he saw it as something to torment him.  But also something God  could work in spite of the "thorn."

I love the way the message Bible brings it with an "in your face" interpretation, "Satan's angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees."  When trials, struggles and torments come our way, we need to adopt Paul's attitude and recall that when we go to our knees in prayer we are receiving the strength and grace we need to make it  through.  Our weakness is no match for Christ's might.  He can overcome and overwhelm every shortcoming and make it a strength.

Dear Lord, help me in my areas of weakness.   I invite you in.  Demonstrate your majesty in-and through- me.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

Sherri

 

A Thorny Problem

“To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.”  II Corinthians 12:7

 

Do you have a thorn in the flesh- something that nags at you, aggravates you, impedes you and frustrates you?   Perhaps it is a person, a situation or a physical ailment.  Whatever your dilemma, we all know the feeling of having some pesky problem in our life that we cannot do anything about. 

Here the Apostle Paul is describing an area of aggravation that he was dealing with.  He attributed the problem to a need in his life to stay humble because of the revelations and visions that God was giving him.  Some people suppose it to be an eye condition, other believe it was some other physical ailment, or perhaps a tormenting demonic spirit.  Regardless of the actual culprit, there is a timeless lesson here.  The great Apostle, who penned 2/3 of the New Testament, had a problem that he could not pray away.  He had something in his life that he had to deal with on a regular basis.  It was something so horrific that he said it was “to torment him.”  Given that when he wrote passages about rejoicing in the Lord, he was standing in a jail cell rife with human excrement, if he says he was being tormented, I tend to believe him!

The first thing we must realize that although our situation hurts and we are unhappy in it, we are not alone.  People throughout the world are going through things just as bad, or worse, than we are.  We are all dealing with our own thorns.  It makes me look forward all the more to a time when we are with Jesus in heaven and will be granted ultimate relief from dealing with the mess of life.

Tomorrow we will look at how Paul dealt with his problem, but for now, just let it sink in that the fact that you are going through something does not mean that God has forgotten you or does not care.  If one of the “super apostles” who was used by God to heal others could struggle with issues, we can know that things such as this are a part of our human condition.  We do not have to feel abandoned in these situations, but rather, can cry out to God knowing that he cares just as much for us as he did Paul.

Dear Lord please help me with the thorns in the flesh that I deal with.  Please help me to trust in you and gain strength from you to stand through them.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri