Well, I’ve been a youth minister (officially) now for a week. It’s been wonderful so far. The people at Westbury are amazing. The kids have limitless potential (like all kids). And I have a freaking assistant! Things couldn’t be better.
Earlier this week, Pastor Jeff preached on a text that is near and dear to my heart, II Corinthians 12:7-10. The text is so deeply important to me because I feel as though I can relate to Paul so well concerning his thorn. Indeed, there have been things in my life (and still are) that I wish God would remove - and yet, there it remains. God pretty much says “no”.
But there were some new truths in my reflection on Jeff’s message. Isn’t it funny how you can have known a scripture for years and yet, all of a sudden, something pops out that you didn’t get before? Well, a few things popped out for me…the kind of things where grasping onto these truths tightly will really change my walk with Jesus forever. And they are these:
1.) In II Corinthians 12:7, Paul talks about how it was because of some “surpassingly great revelations” he had received that he gets this thorn (something bad, but we’re not told what exactly the ”thorn” is). Get that?! A-something good happens; B-Paul gets a thorn. Wow! No reward, no candy, no DVD player, no gift-certificate, no prize - but a stinkin’ thorn! Our culture is used to rewarding good things and punishing bad things - and rightly so. But one of the misleading things about this kind of thinking is this: when bad things happen to us, we often incorrectly assume that we’ve done something bad to deserve it. Even folks in the Bible thought this (John 9:2). But sometimes, things that we see as bad - like Paul’s thorn - may not have come because we did something to earn it. Sometimes, there is a much higher purpose. Sometimes, bad things come because - just like Paul - you did something well.
2.) In verse 9, Jesus, refusing to remove whatever this “thorn” is, says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Wow! God, a loving, good, wonderfully compassionate Father WON’T remove the thorn! But his reasoning is absolutely justified. To God, few things are more important in our relationship with Him than obedience. And in this case, the obedience comes by way of dependence. “My power is made perfect in weakness”. It’s not that He enjoys seeing us suffer. It’s not that He likes for our circumstances to suck. It’s not that He wants us to be unhappy. But if God is ever faced with a choice between our happiness and our obedience, He will ALWAYS go with obedience and consequently engineer our circumstances accordingly, even if He has to bring you into a situation that forces you to depend on Him for sustenance, much like Paul here. Question: why is God so intent on our obedience? Well, any parent could answer this one. Plain and simple - God knows what is best for us…even more than we do. And if He has to subject us to a painful reality that results in a beautiful obedience. That, to Him, would be far better than a beautiful disobedience that leads to a painful reality - perhaps even a painful eternity.
3.) The final new Truth that I learned from this passage of scripture came from verse 10, where Paul resolves to remain content in his weakness. I’ve always thought that this passage was basically a call to be fake - smiling through tears pretty much. Being the emotionally impulsive person I am, I tend not to handle difficult situations well. If something is going wrong in my life and I ask God for help with it, and he says, “no”, I generally don’t respond well. Either I complain to anyone who will listen until I have enough people feeling sorry for me enough to somehow make me feel better; or I do something else (generally, sinful) to temporarily escape the pain of the situation. Neither of these approaches is acceptable, for they both loophole the very obedience that God is trying to bring about. The only option, then, is joyful contentment. The thing about having joy is that it truly is a choice - not a feeling. Joy is not something that you feel like doing. It’s like yardwork - you do it because it needs to be done. Stinks - but it’s true. If you need a motivator, be like Paul. He focused on the knowlegde that, though his circumstances might not be the most uplifting, his dependence-causing weakness results in God being strong. Indeed, Paul is out of his own way - banished from being his own god. Now, it’s totally the God show - God is doing his thing, changing Paul, making things even better. And - just like yardwork - when it is all said and done, you look at what you’ve done. Though it was long, sweaty, hot, and tedious, you’re happy you did it. You feel relieved. Refreshed. Accomplished. And you realize that you developed your character along the way. Indeed, you’ve become a better person after all.
A God who leaves thorns in the flesh?…sounds like my kinda God…
SRay
