In part 1 of this study (the previous blog), I ended with Paul’s acceptance of God allowing him to experience his “thorn in the flesh.” However, Paul had to combat the enemy’s negative messages.
So what did Paul do? For starters, Paul prayed. And if that answer seems too easy then I would say don’t overlook this answer.
Ofttimes, we pray to God as a last resort. Or, our praying is our 9-1-1 call to God. You have tried everything else. Perhaps you have talked to everyone else. Things still are not working. You become distressed and discouraged, now you need God’s help.
It is no wonder the hymn writer penned, “Oh what peace we often forfeit. Oh what needless pains we bear; all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”
Still, praying to God is always good. You may have heard others say God responds to prayers with a “yes”, “no” or “wait”. But hold on. Allow me to chime in. There’s a fourth way God responds to prayer — God says nothing.
Paul prayed once. No response. Paul prayed twice. God is still silent.
Some of us can handle God saying “yes” when we preferred a no. Sometimes we are OK with God saying “no” when we expect God to say yes. At times, we will eventually accept God‘s answer to “wait”; although we are ready to hit the ground running.
But most of the time, anxiety is our reaction when God says nothing at all. You may have been praying about certain situations for a long time. The situation has gone beyond weeks and months. The same situation is now into years.
Praying Is Life-changing and Liberating
I have discovered when I have prayed a long time and the situation has not changed, God did something greater. He changed me. I stopped fretting. I stopped trying to calculate my next move. As I waited on God, I kept praying while noticing changes in my own life as the circumstance remained the same.
I also discovered that change at the hand of God is liberating. The Spirit of God freed me to move on, led me to move up. In Philippians 3:13, Paul testified that he has not yet arrived. He also wrote, “this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, I’m reaching to those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Prayer liberates us so that we can survive sticky situations.
Paul prayed. The third time, God answered. Now Satan is no longer the only one with a message. (Refer to part 1 of this study). God has a voice in Paul’s experience. God has a message for Paul. When Paul prayed the third time, God answered at His appointed time. God knows what needs to be said. God knows when He needs to speak. His message to Paul was, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” To put it another way, God’s grace is enough.
When you are in sticky situations, God’s grace comes in the form of God’s strength. Consider this. God does not have to share His strength with you. But He does as an act of His grace. God’s strength will come into its own in your weakness.
Here’s what I want you to see. God-given strength in your times of weakness is God’s proven grace.
In Isaiah 40:31, the prophet offers an encouraging word, “But they that wait up on the Lord shall renew their strength.”
Back up to verse 28 and the prophet asks, “Have you not known have you not heard? He gives power to the faint and to them that have no might, He increases strength.”
I am paraphrasing verse 31. If you wait on the Lord, He will renew your strength so that you rise above your circumstances. You can also run on and see what the end is going to be. Added to this, the power of God will help you go the distance.
God committed His power to Paul’s weakness, instead of removing the “thorn in” Paul’s “flesh”.
For your purposes, the thorn in the flesh could be a chronic weakness, an annoying circumstance or troubling hardships. Problems may seem to always come and never end.
So I want to point out three ways to help you survive sticky situations — your modern-day thorns in the flesh that keep you weak, annoyed or troubled with seemingly no end in sight.
I am sharing two of three ways in this blog post. The third way will be featured in the next post, part 3 of this study.
Accept God’s Answer
First, If you desire to survive your thorn in the flesh, then like Paul, accept God’s answer. Paul prayed about the challenges of his physical affliction that sometimes seriously hindered his ability to function from day-to-day. The physical challenge could have kept him from accomplishing the ministry God had given him. Paul petitioned God to remove the affliction.
However, God had no reason to remove the affliction. God knew Paul would get more out of life as Paul focused on God’s grace and not on Paul’s affliction. He also knew His grace would outlast Paul’s health condition. God’s grace offers more. God’s grace is always available. So Paul weighed God’s grace and his physical challenge, which helped him accept God’s answer.
When you are going through difficulties in order to survive, you too, must accept God’s answers and not your own. God answered Paul with “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Get this. The affliction that God orchestrated to keep Paul humble, also made him weak.
Assess the Situation
This leads me to my second point. In order to survive sticky situations, like Paul, assess the situation. Paul knew much about God. One thing Paul knew is that God is “the God of all comfort.”
Read Paul’s testimony about God from his words in 2nd Corinthians 1:3-4.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
That word “comfort” means God is the One with all of the strength. His divine strength exceeds our natural level of strength. God comforts us in all of our troubles so that we can comfort others with that same comfort.
Back to 2nd Corinthians chapter 12, Paul assessed the situation. He concluded that his experience had a purpose beyond himself. The strength God gave Paul was so that he would be humbled and helpful.
As you survive your sticky situation, make no mistake, you are still in a position to help someone else. How, you ask? Put to use the same strength God gave to comfort you in your troubles. You do know that your suffering is really not designed to be an isolated incident. Here is the irony of suffering. You can help even while you hurt. As you hurt, someone needs your help. Believe it or not, there is healing in your hurt as you help someone else.
You do not have to shut down, check out or distance yourself from pain by distancing yourself from people. If you believe in the power of prayer, then you also know that in your weakness, God’s strength will come through. Before you know it, God is using you to lift up someone else.
Assess the situation. Yes, there is purpose in your pain.
If you can accept God’s answer and also assess the situation to believe there is purpose in your pain, you have two crucial principles for surviving sticky situations. I will share the third principle in the next blog post.
Mediate on what has been shared in parts 1 and 2 of this study.
Until then,
Keep the faith.
Anita