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For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10
D.L. MOODY
The devil thought he had done a very wise thing when he got Paul into prison, but he was very mistaken; he overdid it for once. I have no doubt Paul has thanked God ever since for that Philippian jail and for his stripes and imprisonment there. The world has made more by it than we shall ever know till we get to heaven.
ERWIN LUTZER
When Paul had a thorn in the flesh, he pleaded with God three times to take it away. The first two times, God was silent. God answered the third time, but it was not the answer Paul had been hoping for. God said, “Paul, the answer is no.” The thorn would not be removed, but that was not the end of the story. God would not leave Paul stranded, suffering without hope. God promised Paul the grace to endure the thorn—to see it as a plus not a minus. Paul heard Jesus say, “My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). God never leaves us without the strength needed to endure a trial.
Paul said in effect, “If, through my weakness, the power of Christ is seen, and through my weakness, grace is given, then I can be content with my thorn. I was asking for a kernel, but God gave me a harvest. I was asking for a trinket, but God gave me true wealth.”
With thorns comes grace; with burdens there are blessings.
PRAYER
Father, I thank you for using my suffering to bring me deeper into your love.REFLECTION QUESTIONS
Have you been able to rejoice in your hardship for the sake of Christ? Why or why not?
How might God increase our love and faith in Him through our suffering?