Celebrate in Weakness

TROWEL & SWORD

Resources - Meditations

November 2000

Celebrate in Weakness

Tony Van Drimmelen

Who wants to talk about weakness when there is so much to celebrate about strength?

Which images from the Olympic Games do you remember best? There are those scenes of athletes standing tall, doing their country proud, taking home a gold, silver or bronze medal. We’ll remember who came first in our favourite event; second maybe, and third, if we have a really good memory. But we’ll be hard pressed to remember much more than that. We seldom remember the losers.

In his closing remarks to the Corinthians, Paul is celebrating a victory in his life. When you read 2 Corinthians 12 you can almost see him on the winner’s podium. As he thinks about victory he recognizes it is not happening because of any strength or power he possesses. In fact, if it were not for weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and difficulties he would not be celebrating at all.

So what is the focus of Paul’s celebrations? If he is not boasting about his achievements what could it be? He could have boasted about visions and revelations from the Lord. He could have boasted about conversions, miracles and miraculous escapes. Curiously, we find him boasting about his weaknesses, highlighting just one in particular. He wants us to know about his “thorn in my flesh.”

This is no common garden-variety thorn. The Greek word, translated ‘thorn’ literally means a stake – a sharpened wooden shaft used to impale or torture someone. It is not the same word used to refer to the crown of thorns that Roman soldiers stuck on Jesus’ head.

Using a powerful metaphor, Paul is saying that God gave him a stake for his sinful flesh to impale and kill it so as to prevent boasting and pride.

Paul described the thorn as “a messenger of Satan” (v.7). There are many differing views on what that means. But if we take it on face value, we can simplify the issue greatly. A messenger of Satan is someone whom Satan sends with a message. Therefore it is highly unlikely that Paul is using it to refer to a physical illness, some crippling condition, as many commentators suggest. Put simply, Paul's thorn in the flesh was a person, and I'd suggest that it was the ringleader of the Corinthian opposition group. He was known to Paul, personally. This man, a messenger from Satan, was there to torment him.

Paul’s point is that God moved Satan to send some person to abuse him, with vengeance. It hurt. It was like being impaled on a stake. Paul understood this “to keep me from being conceited.”

Isn't that just how Satan was used to humble God’s servant Job and later the apostle Peter? God was preparing Paul to be the recipient of grace. All powerful, all sufficient grace. God was making Paul not self reliant, but Christ reliant. Pride robs a person of humility. At times, God does whatever is necessary to make us humble. In the words of 1 Peter 5:5, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

We tend to turn in on ourselves whenever we are hurt. Or at best, we tend to turn to other people with our hurts. But God wants us to look to Him first of all in times of trouble. The Psalmist reminds us to ask ourselves the question: Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God. (Psalm 42:5)

And thankfully that is what Paul did. Three times Paul cried out to God to remove the thorn. Three times the Lord said “no.” Paul prayed persistently and faithfully, yet he learned through this that God's purposes could be better achieved by the answer “no.” God did answer Paul's prayer, not by giving him what he asked, not by removing the problem or pain, but by supplying sufficient grace.

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us... (no one and nothing) will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37,39)

For Paul, receiving God's grace was to be more than a conqueror. Even while he endured all manner of suffering he was a conqueror. He said, “When I am weak then I am strong” (2 Cor.12:10). The great celebration in the life of a person made humble is the wonder-working power of all sufficient grace. For that reason he can go on to boast about his weaknesses knowing that they are the circumstances that lead to the celebration of God’s grace.

Now why ask for something to be removed that results in humility, and a celebration of God’s grace? Why ask for someone to be taken out of your life, when that person can help you rely on God's all sufficient grace alone? Like Paul, we might ask God again and again to remove some stake that impales us, some suffering. And so it is okay to pray for relief. That's what Paul did. Pain is not a good thing in itself. God does not delight in your suffering. Satan does and he must be resisted.

But can you see the flip side? Only when we ask and ask again, then we finally discover that God wants it to remain. Troubles, temptations and pain are inevitable in this life. But remember that God has a use for them. They produce the fruit of humility, and make our hearts eager and receptive to his all-sufficient grace. It brings on the celebration of His wonderful grace!

Why insults, hardships, persecutions, calamities, troubles? Why can't I find a job? Why am I trapped in this awful marriage? Why does my dad have cancer? Why can't I have children? Why do I have no friends? Why is nothing working in my life?

God may not remove the thorns, but He promises sufficient grace to enable us to celebrate.

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