Langley Presbyterian Church

Prayer for Illumination

God of wisdom. By the power of your Spirit, open the Scriptures for us. Prepare us to be challenged and changed as we encounter Christ, Your Living Word.

On June 27, more than 51 million people tuned in to CNN’s presidential debate between President Biden and Trump. After the debate, many Biden supporters showed concerns due to his shaky debate performance. He seemed too old to be re-elected as the President of the United States. Trump was not any better.

Even in Canada, for the next year’s federal election, Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau and the leader of the Conservative Party, Poilievre have been debating on various topics and trying to prove their competency and leadership.

To win the voters’ support, not only their party, but all of the candidates have to show the perfect picture of power, personal stability and reliability, professional capability, trustworthiness, and intellectual strength of their own.

How many of us would vote for a so-called weak candidate? If any candidates create an ad about their weaknesses and failures, I’m sure that wouldn’t help them win votes. It would probably cause them to lose the race.

In our culture, no one truly admires a weak person. It was like that 2000 years ago, and it still is. However, in today’s Scripture lesson, this man boasts his weakness.

This chapter continues refuting the attacks of false apostles – (Paul sarcastically called them ‘super-apostles’), who were leading the Corinthians away from the true message of the Gospel and belief in Christ.

These super-apostles may have been comparing themselves to Paul, boasting about their smooth speech and apparent wisdom, accomplishments, and spiritual experiences.

To them, Paul might not have been seen as a good qualifying leader. He didn’t look impressive at all in real life. Paul admitted in 2 Corinthians 10:10 that somebody who had seen him could have said “His letters are weighty and strong, but in person, he is unimpressive, and his speech contemptible!” However, Paul did not consider himself inferior to those “super-apostles.”

While those false teachers were more than happy to brag about themselves, Paul has been using a similar tone, but his “boasting” has focused mostly on his weaknesses and suffering.

His version of self-promotion, even when he’s being sarcastic, is all about the power of Christ shown in the work of the Gospel.

Now, in today’s text, Paul says he will “boast” about visions and revelations of the Lord. Yet, even before he shares his vision, Paul insists there is nothing to be gained by this, declaring himself foolish for doing so.

He is very careful not to make the story of this extraordinary experience about himself as much as possible, initially describing it vaguely as happening to “a man.” Although it becomes clear he is speaking of himself.

Paul says that he was caught up to “the third heaven,” even though he is unsure whether he was physically in the body or apart from the body when he experienced heaven.

In the Old Testament, the third heaven is often referred to as the highest heaven, where God dwells and angels praise Him.

The first heaven—or first heavens— is understood as the sky above the earth. The second would be the realm of the sun, moon, and stars: what we would now refer to as outer space.

Paul says that this happened 14 years before the time of this writing. That would be sometime around AD 42–44, before his first missionary journey (46AD).

Yet, some believe this event could have occurred during Paul’s first missionary journey when he was stoned and left for dead in Lystra, but we can’t be sure.

While there, he heard and saw inexpressible things and was forbidden to reveal. For 14 years, he never talked about the revelations. In any of his letters, he said nothing about what he heard or what he saw on that day in the third heaven.

Even now, he is only doing so because the false apostles have been bragging about their supernatural experiences. He apparently, doesn’t want to be given personal glory for an unverifiable story. In saying this, he may have been warning the Corinthians not to give glory to the false teachers based on such stories, either.

However, God understood that such knowledge and experience had the potential to make Paul proud, arrogant, and conceited. God wanted Paul to be Christlike in humility instead of seeing himself as being above those he served.

To guarantee this, God gave Paul a “thorn in the flesh.” The word for ‘thorn’ here is the Greek skolops. The term most literally defines a pointy piece of wood, and might be better translated into English as “a stake.” It’s like a sharp object stabbed into his body, unable to be removed, bringing chronic pain and discomfort.

Scripture never tells us what this terrible thorn was even though there are many speculations about it. Some of the theories include temptation, a chronic eye problem, or a speech disability.

People have gone so far in their imaginations as to assert that Paul suffered from malaria, epilepsy, club feet, or a hunched back. No one can say for sure what Paul’s thorn in the flesh was, but it was a source of real pain in his life.

No one likes to live in pain. Understandably, Paul pleaded with the Lord three times to remove the thorn from him. He probably had many good reasons why the thorn should be taken away: his ministry could be more effective or he could travel further to reach more people with the gospel…

But, surprisingly, God said, ‘no’, insisting His grace was sufficient for Paul even with this torment. The Lord was more concerned with building Paul’s character and preventing pride. Instead of removing the problem, God gave Paul more overwhelming grace and more compensating strength.

God’s goal in allowing the thorn in the flesh was to keep Paul humble. Anyone who had encountered Jesus and was commissioned personally by Him would, in his natural state, become “puffed up.”

We see this kind of spiritual pride in the church sometimes. Those who have more visible spiritual gifts or unusual spiritual experiences easily fall into the temptation of spiritual pride, thinking that they are more special, more faithful, more powerful, and better.

Paul learned that God’s “power is made perfect in weakness.” For this reason, Paul declares once more that he will boast of the weaknesses that prove Christ’s power in him.

Paul is content in all manner of suffering because his weakness is his strength when Christ is working through him, and now he adds enthusiasm. He will boast gladly about his weaknesses, including this thorn in the flesh because God’s power is made perfect in his weakness, not in his strength.

What would you do if you had such a thorn? Let’s say, your thorn is any kind of physical vulnerability, personal struggles, tricky relationship, or challenging situation. Wouldn’t you ask God to take it away from you?

I would undoubtedly ask God to remove it from my life like Paul, except I wouldn’t stop at three. I would beg the Lord every day.

But many times, God doesn’t heal our physical sickness, doesn’t solve our struggles, and doesn’t change our complicated situation miraculously with a snap of his fingers like a genie. Why doesn’t He, even though He is able?

Because our weaknesses are the very means by which the transforming power of faith in Jesus Christ shines most dramatically. For Paul, it was when he was weak, poor, sick, and rejected by his people that God’s power was seen most clearly.

When we look closely at life, there seems to be a correlation between weakness and spirituality. It seems the more vulnerable we realize that we are, the more open we make ourselves to the presence of God and the deeper our faith becomes. That means the very path to discovering new strength is through embracing and facing our weaknesses.

I’m not saying that all your sufferings are from God to deepen your faith, to make you humble, or to build your character. I’m not saying that God’s grace is sufficient for those who are agonizing in pain. But even in the middle of unbearable difficulties, God can bring out something good.

Rika Theron has suffered from severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) for almost 40 years since she was 16. ME is a debilitating neurological disease that affects the entire body and causes bone-crushing fatigue, terrifying brain problems, and constant muscle, joint, and nerve pain. The pain can sometimes be unbearable with 24/7 shocking impulses and nauseating burning throughout the body.

With severe ME, Rika spends over 90% of her time in bed, often in a dark room. She has been housebound – mostly bedridden – since she was a teenager. When she is able, she finds inspiring articles, lightly edits and shares them with a small group of friends who deal with severe chronic pain and illness like herself. She wrote:

“The praises of the angels, as they bow in perfect happiness, and say, “God is good,” must be very blessed.

And the praises of men of God on earth, who have health and strength, and who say, “God is good,” are very precious.

But one who is poor and needy, one who is racked with pain and suffering, and deprived of every comfort; yet I see her stretch out her hand, and say, “The Lord is good, blessed be his name” – I think the Lord finds a sweeter note in that praise than He does even the music of the angelic choirs.”

Suffering humbles us, throws us upon the mercy of God, makes us pray fervently, and teaches us that the grace of God is sufficient. Honestly, these are lessons we don’t want to learn.

But there are times when God allows Satan to visit us with a thorn in the flesh precisely so that we will discover the all-sufficiency of God’s grace in Christ.

As the minister of Langley Presbyterian Church, I often feel inadequate because I am not an eloquent speaker; I’m not a great singer; and I’m not a charismatic leader. But because I do not have much to offer, I have no other option but to rely on God.

Sometimes, I want to be like those who seem so powerful and more gifted, but the Spirit of God reminds me that God’s power is made perfect in my weakness. And I know I can do nothing without my Lord.

God’s sovereign grace is most evident in the life of His people when they are inadequate, rather than strong. In weakness, the indwelling Spirit is operative, because we are bound to rely on Him more than we would in good times.

For this reason, Paul can ‘boast all the more gladly’ about his weakness. There is strength in weakness, for when we are weak, then we are more aware of God’s all-powerful grace.

Friends, don’t be discouraged when God doesn’t take away your thorn, your weakness.

Rather, let us be fully aware and glad all the more that we cannot do anything without Him, without His amazing grace, without His encouragement, without His affirming smile, without His strong arms, without His life-giving Word, without His life-changing power.

The thorny us will get tired, anxious, and frustrated, and will make a lot of mistakes along the way. But God’s grace is enough. Let us be thankful for our weakness, not because weakness itself is glorious, but because our thorn can be transformed into a triumph of grace, a vindication of the Lord’s gracious power.

Let us pray.

Faithful God, Thank You for Your Grace. Your grace is sufficient for us. When we have no strength to walk, help us walk closer with You. We are weak but You are strong. Your power is made perfect in our weakness. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.