Part 9 - Grace for Every Need

Introduction

Tonight, I’ve got some questions for you to begin with...

Do you ever feel too weak to go through the situations the Lord allows in your life?

Do you ever feel insufficient to fulfill every responsibility you have?

Do you ever feel completely inadequate to be a good husband, wife, or friend?

We all face these feelings of weakness, but there’s good news! We have a Heavenly Father whose strength has no limits!

There’s nothing He cannot do!

When our strength is completely gone and we feel like we are trapped in the depths of our own weakness, we are in a position to see the vast power of God firsthand.

Our greatest need is God’s greatest opportunity!

When we are going through trials and trouble, we usually aren’t overjoyed at what’s happening in our lives...Nobody likes their boat rocked or to get out of their comfort zone.

Our troubles are so tedious, they tend to drain us of our strength and weaken us. Yet, the Lord allows these very types of circumstances to grace our lives for this specific reason. He uses our times of buffeting to bring blessing. That may seem weird, but that is the way the Lord works.

Whenever we go through a challenge, a thorn in the flesh, as Paul calls it - instead of praying for God to take the thorn away, pray for God to show His strength to you.

He showed it to Paul and He’ll show it to us.

Let’s look at a few things as we consider the transforming truth that God gives grace for every need.

The Agonizing Thorn

2 Corinthians 12:7–8 KJV 1900

7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

Paul states that even though he enjoyed wonderful revelations from God, the Lord kept him from becoming proud by giving him a thorn in the flesh.

One of the big questions of the Bible refers to this verse.

What was Paul’s thorn?

We don’t know for sure because the Bible doesn’t tell us. This word “thorn” is from a Greek word meaning “a sharp stake or splinter.” Sometimes criminals were impaled upon a sharp stake. Paul’s pain was like the pain of a sharp stake. This thorn indicates a savage pain and a picture of intense suffering. Many ideas have been offered to the identity of his thorn.

The idea that Paul was using was this, God had given him a splinter and it had been impaled into his physical body. The splinter was causing acute inflammation within his body and he was in much pain.

The body of Paul’s was experiencing a form of deep pain, sharp agony, and it was causing him emotional and physical grief.

Some have suggested that it was malaria, epilepsy, migraine headaches, chronic arthritis, or a disease of the eyes. Whatever the case, it was a chronic and debilitating problem, which at times kept him from working.

This thorn was a hindrance to his ministry. Paul was a very self-sufficient person, so this thorn must have been difficult for him. It kept Paul humble, reminded him of his need for constant contact with God, and benefitted those around him as they saw God at work in his life. This was a blessing from his buffeting. His thorn did not keep the apostle wholly from his service for Christ.

Friend, you may be suffering from health problems right now and wondering why the Lord doesn’t let you get well.

Why did you get sick or hurt in the first place?

You may wonder if you did something wrong?

That’s possible, but sometimes the Lord allows pain and suffering in your life for another reason. It is for the purpose of keeping you humble and dependent upon Him, and to give you the opportunity to glorify Him in your difficult circumstances.

As you endure trials, you honor your Saviour by coming to Him seeking His strength.

Whatever your need is, you can come to your Saviour.

Christ is glorified when you praise Him in your pain, pressure, and problems.

Hebrews 4:16 KJV 1900

16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

There will be times when you, like Paul in verse 8, may pray for the removal of a trial and it’s not removed. You may pray for something that you desire but the Lord does not grant your request. Why does He do this?

1. That we might receive Grace.

The grace we receive from God from the denial of our request is far more important than the actual desire we seek from the Lord. God’s grace enables us to mature and grow in Christ.

2. That we might receive Goodness, not something that will hurt us.

The Lord may deny our request because it is not good for us.

3. That we might receive Greater blessings.

God has often some better thing in store for us than would be the immediate answer to our prayer. Who can doubt that this was true of Paul? The promised grace of Christ as sufficient to support us, is of more value than would be the mere removal of any bodily affliction.

4. That we might Grow.

The Lord did not remove Paul’s thorn so that he would remain humble and remain God-dependent. As great a man as Paul was, he still had room to grow in faith. The Lord used buffeting to bring blessing to him.

The Astonishing Truth

2 Corinthians 12:9–10 KJV 1900

9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Think about what we are reading here...

Because of what this thorn did in Paul’s life, he was overwhelmed, overruled, and overjoyed!

He learned that the thing he thought was holding him back was the very thing that was making him better.

How in the world was this “thorn” making him better?

There’s two things right here...

First...

Through weakness, we are strengthened...

What an amazing thought - strength out of weakness!

The times we are cast down, discouraged, and defeated, we can become the strongest we have ever been.

2 Corinthians 12:10 (KJV 1900)

10 ...for when I am weak, then am I strong.

The thing that we think is holding us down the most may be what is helping us the most!

We must first be empty before God will fill us.

We must first be broken because God will fix us.

We must first be needy before God will give to us.

We must first be cast down before God will lift us up.

This is a truth of God’s Word that will transform us if we will allow it!

Second...

Through weakness, we are perfected...

There is one Greek word for the phrase in verse 10, “is made perfect” - It’s from this Greek word that we get the word Jesus uttered as He agonized for us on the cross. In His six statement from the cross, Jesus said: “It is finished.”

What’s the point in this, well, when we are strengthened through Him, our strength is completed - perfected. It’s finished! We don’t need to add anything to the strength that God gives us. It’s enough to meet whatever our needs are.

The Almighty Triumph

One of the most encouraging things about this passage is how Paul gained spiritual victory. As we are pricked by our own painful thorn in the flesh, we can enjoy the same victory that Paul had!

Let me show you how Paul did it, and how we must do it:

We must recognize our own weakness...

A primary qualification for serving God is an honest acknowledgement of our own inability…If often takes a mature believer to grasp this truth, yet, it is required!

God will not use you until you sense a deep, profound inadequacy in your life. It’s not what you bring to the table for Christ that matters…It matters what you don’t have that makes God look upon you and choose you.

Think about it, what would the Creator of the Universe need us to do that He couldn’t already do Himself?

When we recognize our own inability, we put ourselves in a position to see the power of God.

We must rely on His strength...

God is not interested in using the puffed up, proud person who sees himself as God’s gift to humanity!

God is interested in using people who are admittedly weak and dependent on His strength.

Think about:

Moses - The stutterer...

Exodus 4:10–12 KJV 1900

10 And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. 11 And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord? 12 Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.

David - The short one...

1 Samuel 16:7 KJV 1900

7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

The lad with the lunch - The child...

John 6:9–11 KJV 1900

9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? 10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.

Conclusion

Insufficiency is a required qualification for those who will be used of God…

Henrietta Mears, who was used so mightily to strengthen the evangelical church through her discipleship and writing, suffered from her childhood and through the rest of her life with extreme myopia and general eye weakness and irritation. She, like Paul, cried out for relief, but to no avail. In her maturity Miss Mears often remarked, “I believe my greatest spiritual asset throughout my entire life has been my failing sight, for it has kept me absolutely dependent upon God.”

Henrietta Mears went forward for Christ, still plagued by her increasing disability, to set the standard for Sunday schools in America. She founded Gospel Light and wrote the million-plus best-seller book, What the Bible Is All About. In her weakness, she became strong. The grace of God enables you too, to be strong when you are weak and to enjoy God’s blessings when you are buffeted.