UNDERSTANDING ADVERSITY: PART FIVE

 

UNDERSTANDING ADVERSITY PART FIVE

 

Our Fifth Look at adversity is Adversity Is God’s Reminder Of Our Weakness.

A certain evangelist years ago when he was in his thirties developed a nervous disorder. Before it happened to him, he had been critical of others who had the same disorder. He said, “For two years I suffered from nervous exhaustion and from that I learned not to laugh at nervous people.”

It is very easy to make light of the difficulties that others face until we experience a similar problem! In God’s school we learn to sympathize with a variety of frailties we thought shouldn’t affect Christians or should be easily overcome. We learn that God does not deliver us quickly and easily from such conditions. Paul was a person of great faith and strength, but he had a ‘thorn in the flesh’ He says in 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10; And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice (three times), that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

His thorn in the flesh remained with him in spite of his repeated pleas for God to remove it. Instead of resenting this ‘thorn,’ Paul learned to welcome the resulting weakness that led him to find strength in Christ. This same apostle, perhaps because of his affliction, had earlier urged Christians to “comfort the faint hearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.” I Thessalonians 5:14.

Through the emotional and physical thorns God allows in our lives, we learn what it means to trust Him. And in the process, we learn patience and kindness toward all. Only as we learn to glory in our unchangeable “infirmities” will we be able to experience the power of Christ resting upon us: Let’s look at 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10; again so we get it in our hearts. “…there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I brought before the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distress for Christ sake: For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.

Now just for clarification sake, we are not told what Paul’s thorn in the flesh was eluding to nor does he himself tell us. Many commentaries will tell you it may have been Malaria, eye trouble and some have even suggested that he had epilepsy. It really is of no consequence to know exactly what it was, but to understand that whatever it was it was an adverse situation that was debilitating and probably kept him from working at times. His ministry was hindered because of that thorn and we know that because he said that three times he asked God to remove it from him  God refused. If you study Paul’s life you will find that he of all people was a very self-sufficient man so having this thorn must have been a severe challenge to him. This thorn kept Paul humble.  It reminded him of his constant need for contact with the Lord. This thorn more than likely became a testimony to those around Paul as they watched him work in spite of this adversity. God never took the thorn away but He did reveal His power in it. This tells me when we see God’s power being manifested in weaker people we need to be encouraged. It is designed to draw us closer to our Lord and to become more effectual.

Trusting in our own energies takes away from the power of God being made real in adverse situations.Trusting in God in adverse situations builds character which is ultimately God’s goal for us. When we don’t trust in God we tend to do it our way which ultimately leads to failure. We need to believe on the One who made us. “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him. For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust.” Psalm 103: 13-14.

“God chooses what the world calls foolish to shame the wise and what the world calls wise to confound the strong, that no man may boast in the presence of God.”                     I Corinthians 1:26-29;

Paul chose to trust God in his adversity and God used it to confound those around him. When God works in power through our obvious weaknesses, both we and others are free to give Him all the praise. Do you have a weakness today. Why not allow God to use it to encourage and lift up someone around you. Doing that you will bring glory and honor to your God. Don’t forget, hit the subscribe button so you can keep informed about this series and also check out the amazon book page to get your copy of this study.

Shall we pray. If you do not Know Jesus as your Savior today, I invite you to say the sinner’s prayer with me now.

 Lord Jesus, I come to you today in need of a Savior. I believe you came to this earth as a man and walked among us teaching and healing and saving souls. I acknowledge today that I am a sinner and that you died for me and rose on the third day, ascended to Heaven and are seated by the Father. I ask you to forgive me of my sins and come into my life and be my savior today. I believe I am now born again and one day I will be with you forever. Thank you in Jesus name. Amen

 See you in Part 6.  Have a blessed day.