Hope in Christ

Paul was likely going through some kind of spiritual warfare with what he called a thorn in the flesh. He prayed to the Lord to take it away three times, but God didn’t merely take his pain away. In verse 9, Jesus says to Paul “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Look at Paul’s response to what Jesus says, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” In Paul’s time of significant spiritual warfare that caused great physical weakness and distress, the power connected to the grace of Jesus Christ was perfected in Paul’s physical and spiritual infirmities.

It’s guaranteed that we are going to go through physical struggles and spiritual warfare that act as our own “thorn in the flesh.” And its ok to pray for God to take it away. But while we wait, let’s remember that the power of Christ is also perfected in our weakness and in our times of suffering. It is by the grace of Christ and his power that we can stand strong in weakness and suffer well through our personal hardships.

When we feel like we can’t go on and we want to give up, Jesus’ grace is sufficient for us. His power is shown in our times of weakness and can be a light and encouragement to others. So, let’s rely not on our own strength and understanding, but on the power of Christ that is perfected and on display in the most difficult of times.