| Yesterday's Bible Study |
In this morning's verse, Paul writes about how the Lord has not answered one of his prayers. He wanted to be healed of something, but the Lord said no. Instead, He promises that His grace will be enough for Paul. Paul's response is that he will honor God in his weaknesses so that he can experience the power of Christ.
This verse might be a little hard to understand, much less accept. We're human, and humans want things. We might want a better place to live, or for our annoying neighbors to move away, or for our family life and career to be more settled. And, we may convince ourselves that God wants these same things for us. Surely it's His will for us to live comfortable lives, right?
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But this verse gives us a very different picture. Paul was faithful to the Lord--the Lord did not withhold healing because of anything Paul did. Instead, it was the Lord's will that some degree of preventable suffering exist in Paul's life. The reason was not to test Paul's faith, but rather, so that God's strength might be made perfect in weakness.
God can work through our lives when we suffer to minister to other people. Our brokenness can be like a beacon demonstration of God's love and sustaining power. While it is perfectly natural and acceptable for us to pray for healing and for other wishes in our lives, we should also pray that the Lord would help us to honor Him before the healing comes.
We do not have to see suffering as futile. Every wound we've experienced becomes an opportunity to realize the sufficiency of Christ alone. Like Paul, we can begin to pray to that end, asking for God to be glorified in our weakness.
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