Today we continue our new series entitled, “Press through it!”
We have been looking at the following passage for weeks. 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)
There are two aspects of God’s grace. In one aspect, God’s grace is all about the forgiveness of our sins and shortcomings. God overlooks our flaws and clearly gives us what we do not deserve. This is why grace is often referred to as “God’s unmerited favor”. But there is another aspect of God’s grace. It is one of empowerment. God graces (or empowers) us to do what we could never do without Him. Today, based on the passage we have been studying, I will focus in on this aspect of God’s grace. Paul learned something while dealing with his thorn in the flesh. He learned that God’s power is only released in our lives when we are weak. Said another way, God only flexes His muscles through us when we are willing to get out of the way and allow Him to do so.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. Less pain or more grace? The Apostle Paul asked the Lord three times to take away the messenger of satan. Satan’s messenger was his “thorn in the flesh” and he wanted relief. But instead of removing the messenger, God gave Paul the grace to overcome his attacks and to continue on in the pursuit of his purpose in spite of the opposition. Guess what? God will often do the same with you. You ask Him to remove what is bothering you, but instead, He gives you the grace to deal with it, to rise above it, and to continue on in spite of it. God does this because He is more focused on His purpose than your comfort. God never promised your life would be comfortable. He just promised to be with you every step of the way.
2. God’s power will not flow freely through you when YOU are in the way. You have human power and God has all power. You have finite ability and God has limitless strength. You have some knowledge and God has all wisdom. God has placed His Spirit down inside of you so that you would have access to His supernatural power and wisdom. You can choose to operate on your own, without God, and He will stand by and watch you stumble your way through life. Or you can get out of the way, die to self, and allow God to flow through you. This is a daily choice. Which will you choose today?
3. When your power runs out, His power can kick in. As men we often don’t call for or rely on God’s grace until we get to the end of ourselves. We shouldn’t wait until it gets that far, but we often do. Whether we wait until we are exhausted because we attempted to do it on our own, or we call on God right up front, the point is that God’s power will kick in when we acknowledge that our power is not enough. As long as we are focused on doing it ourselves, God will stand by and allow us to do so.
4. God’s power is fully manifested in your weakness.
a) You are both human and divine. You live in a body, here in the earth. Your body is your connection to the earth. But the real you is a spirit. Your spirit lives inside of your body. Once you are Born-Again, God’s Spirit comes inside of you and recreates your spirit. You now have God Himself, in the form of the Holy Spirit, living in you. So while your body connects you to the earth (through your senses), God’s Spirit in you is your direct connection to heaven (Spirit-to-Spirit). The Holy Spirit is how you communicate with God, and if you allow the Holy Spirit to lead you, you can experience heaven on earth.
b) The supernatural power of God can flow through you daily, and this is God’s goal. But God refuses to compete with you. If you choose to do something on your own, without God, He will let you do it in your own strength.
c) The things God has called you to do are going to be SO BIG that you will not be able to do them without Him. When you look at the magnitude of your assignment, and you compare it to the limited power you have on your own, you will quickly realize how weak you are in your own strength. This forces you to rely on God and His grace.
d) God knows His plans are too big for you to accomplish without Him. This is why He gave you His Spirit and this is why His Spirit empowers you with His grace. When you acknowledge your weakness it unlocks the door to His strength. Until you do, there is too much of YOU in the way for God to live through you.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, Your grace is sufficient to empower me to overcome every challenge, to rise above every obstacle, and to win every battle. But You won’t complete with me. If I choose to face something on my own, in my own strength and my own ability, You will stand by and watch me flounder. I have done enough of that. From this day forward, I declare that I will face every challenge head on, in faith, fully relying on Your grace. I am not good enough or strong enough on my own. But I don’t have to be. I am not alone. You live in me. Your grace is on me. So I minimize my humanity and allow You to maximizing the divinity You placed in me in the form of Your Spirit. I enter this day fully confident that I will succeed. Not in my power, but in Your strength. Not because of my goodness, but in because of Your grace. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
