Today we continue our new series entitled, “Press through it!”
Yesterday I introduced you to this passage. Let’s go back to it 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. The supernatural is real.
a) I am not sure why, but many Christians fail to truly believe in the supernatural. Some don’t believe demons are real. Some don’t believe visitations from God are real. Some don’t even believe hell is real. Even though all these things are in the Bible. It comes down to this: either you believe the Bible or you don’t. You can’t take bits and pieces. The entire body of scripture is God’s Word and it must all be acknowledged as such.
b) Paul had a supernatural encounter with God on the road to Damascus. This is how he was converted. Later Jesus revealed Himself to Paul multiple times as Paul received the revelation that he was called (from his mother’s womb) to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. And once, during one of Paul’s prison stints, Jesus physically visited him in prison (Acts 23:11). If all of this were not enough, in the text we are looking at, we see that Paul was called up to heaven. Paul visited heaven. The encounter was so supernatural that he was not sure if his physical body went with him or not. He was confused concerning whether he was in the body or out of the body, but there was no confusion concerning where he was. Paul visited heaven and then came back to the earth to complete his divine assignment. These things are real. Our God is a spiritual God and we are supposed to have spiritual encounters with Him.
2. Pride is dangerous.
a) When Paul visited heaven the encounter was so supernatural that he ran the risk of becoming prideful. As a result, when satan assigned a demon to attack Paul full-time, God allowed it. God refused to take it away, because for whatever reason, the constant persecution was keeping Paul humble.
b) While it is true that God allowed a demon to consistently attack Paul, because that was required, in Paul’s case, for him to remain humble, it is also true that this may not be the case for every person. Paul’s exploits were huge, so the risk of crossing over into pride was also significant. As a result, God allowed whatever Paul required in order to remain humble. When you understand this, you realize just how important remaining humble is to God.
c) If God allowed Paul to deal with a demon in order to remain humble, then it is clear that humility is a major part of your divine success. Pride puts the spotlight on you. Humility keeps the spotlight on God.
d) If you humble yourself, God won’t have to humble you. But if you exalt yourself, God will humble you and the experience will be one you will never forget.
3. Make no excuses.
a) Once God revealed to Paul that He was not going to remove the “thorn in the flesh,” and that He had already given Paul the grace to keep going, Paul did just that. Paul did not sit around and complain to God. Many today would simply quit and then use the “thorn in the flesh” as an excuse. Paul made no excuses. He embraced the grace and he kept going. This is how we are supposed to live.
b) Life is not always going to be easy. God is not going to take away your opposition. God is not always going to sweep in and remove every barrier for you. As a matter of fact, once you start walking with God in earnest, it may get worse before it gets better. It may get harder and never get easier. But you can’t afford to make excuses. You only have one life. You only get one chance at this. Stop complaining, look up and not down, embrace the grace of God and press through it!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for calling me, from my mother’s womb, to do what I was birthed to do. I am on this planet for Your Kingdom purpose and I will complete it before I die. Along the way I have supernatural encounters with You. The supernatural is natural to me. But no matter how amazing my encounters are, I will always remain humble. I humble myself, so You don’t have to humble me. And in my humility, I embrace the grace to keep going. I won’t complain. I won’t get upset when You don’t make my road easier. I won’t give up when things get hard. Every step of the way, no matter how hard it gets, I will embrace Your grace and PRESS THROUGH IT! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
