Before I begin I want to tell you that I have left some cards with helpful quotes for you to put on your fridge to remind you that God’s help is there for you always.

Opposites.

Give me some opposites.

God’s view is often the opposite of the world’s view. The world hates – God loves. The world follows the loud, the clever, the one who puts themselves in the spotlight.   God looks to the humble, the quiet, the one in the background. The world wants revenge, God forgives. Our sins make us black but Jesus makes us white as snow with his forgiveness.

And the best opposite of all, Jesus died so we could live.

So we come to Paul’s story. Don’t you just love Paul stories. I do. We learn so much from him, after all he was the first of God’s teachers and ambassadors to the Gentiles and all his teachings are just as relevant to us today.

Paul was under attack by “super apostles”. They claimed to be better than Paul in speaking, receiving visions and sharing the gospel. But they were false apostles and giving a false picture of Jesus that was different to the gospel Paul had taught. We need to look back to the previous chapter of 2 Corinthians.

Paul responded by saying, “If you think I am a fool then I’ll play the fool. And what does a fool do? He boasts, so I will boast as they do. They say they are servants of Christ. So am I. I have suffered much in Christ’s service.” Then he goes on to list some of the sufferings he has endured.

“They say they have visions. So have I.” And then he tells them of an extraordinary vision. Most commentators agree that that was Paul’s vision rather than a man he met. Note, though, that Paul’s boasts were all the truth even though he says he was being foolish.

Then Paul goes on to say I’ll show you how much of a fool I am. I’ll boast of my weaknesses not my strengths. Only a fool would do this.

This turned the false ones criticism against themselves because the Hallmark of a true apostle is found not in his strength but in his weakness.

After Paul mentioned the vision he moved quickly to the main point he wants to make. In order to stop him from boasting about himself and becoming conceited, prideful and arrogant, God allows a “thorn in the flesh” to be given to him. He says it was a messenger from Satan. God does allow Satan to deal with his followers at times but God is at work in the trials. Remember the story of Job’s trials and the testing of Jesus in the wilderness.

Now, what was this thorn? Was it physical or spiritual? He certainly had spiritual disappointments as his plans were always being thwarted and he sometimes anguished over the way some followers had behaved, such as these false apostles among the Corinthians.

But most commentators believe this thorn was a physical affliction such as headaches, epilepsy, malaria, or eye problems and whatever it was; it put him in a state of perpetual weakness. As with the vision, the nature of the thorn was not as important as what Paul learned from it. He pleaded with God three times to take this thorn away. I am a bit of a slow learner when it comes to lessons from God and I would have asked many more times. Twice God was silent and but the third time He gave Paul the message which is vital for us to learn also.

The message was this, “My Grace is sufficient for you.”

My – as from God.

Grace – the undeserved mercy and riches of God.

Is – We don’t have to ask God to make it sufficient for us because it already is and always will be for every circumstance.

Sufficient – enough, plenty, all we need.

You – Paul and anyone who asks for it.

So why do we hide our weaknesses? A theology College professor was asked, “What is the thing you are most afraid of?” His answer, “Being found out.” We fear that our weaknesses will be exposed. The world says ‘Strength is good! Weakness is bad!’, so we do all we can to conceal our weaknesses. We feel vulnerable, afraid we will be hurt or lose control or be betrayed or embarrassed and we worry what others will think of us. But God tells us to take the opposite approach. It is OK to be found out. It is OK for our weaknesses to be seen. It is then that we can bear witness to the sufficiency of God’s grace. Our task in this frantic, fearful world is to bear witness to the power of God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Many have attested that their deepest spiritual insights came through the vulnerability, their suffering and pain and they found peace, joy and strength through their weakness. The trial must endure, but the grace will also endure and never fail. Our strength is often God’s rival. Our weakness is his servant. God’s way is not to take his children out of trial but to give them strength to bear up against it.

Jesus was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by God’s power. (2 Cor 13:4)

The second part of the message to Paul was “My power is made perfect in your weakness”.                                                                            Likewise, we are weak, yet God demonstrates His power through us. Jesus was weak with the burden of sin. It was then that God’s power could strengthen Him to endure death on the cross. The central symbol of Christian faith is a cross- a symbol of weakness and defeat, but God turns the cross into a symbol of love- strength in weakness. It is interesting to note that Jesus, as Paul, also prayed three times for release from the suffering, which was to follow.

God needs an opening, so He can work. While we are weak and vulnerable, God’s power can then give us the strength to go on, and the more vulnerable we realise we are, the more open we make ourselves to the presence of God and the deeper our faith and spirituality will become. We have to accept that God’s grace is truly sufficient and entrust ourselves into God’s hands, then we can discover the strength and power.

Paul realised that this handicap was really a blessing. He actually said he would take pleasure in his weaknesses and the insults, hardships, persecutions and troubles. Paul’s boasting of his weaknesses is like him saying ‘bring it on’. He was so sure and confident of the all sufficient grace of Christ. Are we able to accept all our difficulties as Paul did and allow God to use us for His purposes? Only a convinced Christian can take pleasure in sufferings, knowing that God will strengthen them with His power and lead them on a journey of learning new truths and of a closer and more intimate relationship with the one and only wise God and Saviour.

Let us pray.

Father God, we ask that you will help us to see our weaknesses and problems and allow you to use them to show your great power to strengthen us and witness to the people we come in contact with, so they may see you in all your glory and seek after you to be present in their lives also. AMEN.