Today we continue our new series entitled, “Press through it!”
We have been looking at the following passage for a few days. Let’s go back to it again this morning. The Apostle Paul said:
“I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows—was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations. 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 he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 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.”
(2 Cor 12:2-10 NIV)
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. God will give you the experiences you need in order to fulfill your life’s assignment. Paul had a tremendous assignment. Therefore, his experiences with God had to be tremendous as well. Since he was charged with writing over half the New Testament, he had to be in position to receive supernatural revelation from the Father. So God allowed Paul to go to heaven. In heaven Paul got a perspective of God that most humans don’t get to experience before we die. But these experiences were necessary for his assignment, so God provided it. God will do the same for you. Whatever you need to become the man/woman God called you to be is available to you. The key is knowing that God provides you these things by grace. It is unearned and unmerited. Don’t think it has anything to do with your performance. It has everything to do with God’s goodness.
2. Boast in the fact that you ‘got to’ experience it, not that you earned it. It’s easy for someone like Paul, who went to heaven and lived to come back and tell about it, to feel special. It would have been easy for Paul to boast in the fact that he made the trip and most humans do not. But instead of boasting himself, Paul chose to boast in the fact that he wasn’t worthy of the trip. Paul was just happy that he ‘got to’ experience it. Learn from Paul. Whatever you are called of God to do, just be thankful that you GET TO do it. God could have selected anyone, but He CHOSE YOU! He did not choose you because YOU are so good. God chose you because HE is so good!
3. When you know you didn’t earn it, you acknowledge and appreciate God’s grace. When Paul was talking about his trip to heaven and he said, “I will boast only about my weaknesses,” he was acknowledging the fact that he had not earned the trip. Similarly, when I think about my life’s assignment, and the awesomeness of it, sometimes I can’t help but weep. I know I don’t deserve it. I know I haven’t earned it. But God, who is rich in mercy, calls us by His grace, not our merit.
4. The secret is acknowledging the fact that you don’t deserve it. Paul had the perspective he did because he knew all the bad things he had done in life before coming to Jesus, and all the mistakes he made even after being Born-Again. The message of grace changed Paul, it has changed me, and my prayer is that it also changes you. When you fully embrace the grace of God you are free from your failures, you are forgiven of your past, and you are excited about your future. Not because of who you are, but because of who God is. When you place the spotlight of your life on God, you are free to boast in your weakness and still be excited about what you are called to do.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for Your amazing grace. There was a time when I was plagued by my past. Satan constantly reminded me of all the things I did wrong and told me I was not worthy of Your best. He told me I had disqualified myself from Your assignment for my life. Even today, every time I make a mistake, he tries to get me to feel condemned. But the days of me falling for his tricks are over. I don’t judge my future by my past or my performance. I am whom You say I am. I GET TO do what You called me to do. I know I’m not good enough. But thankfully, where I am weak, You make me strong! Living with this attitude I am convinced that You will change the world through me! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
