Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But [God] said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” ... That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Devotional: We talked on Day 1 about a type of trauma called Complex Trauma – that is, the kind of trauma that arises from multiple and ongoing events. Certainly, the apostle Paul experienced that kind of trauma, so much so that he labeled it a “thorn”.
Desperately Paul prayed that God would remove this “thorn”. We don’t know precisely what it was, but we know it was significant enough for Paul to desperately cry out to God to remove it.
But God didn’t.
He allowed Paul to continue to suffer. But he didn’t suffer alone. God showed Paul that His grace would be sufficient to help him endure the suffering. In fact, Paul would become stronger and more powerful as a result.
God’s strength was made perfect in Paul’s weakness.
And it can be made perfect in you as well.
Reflect:
- How might you learn, as Paul did, to delight in the painful difficulties that you have and/or are facing?
- Pray a prayer of surrender to Him, that you might see His strength at work in your life.