Slices
Prepare
Recall a special spiritual experience you have had. Thank God for it.
Bible passage
Paul’s vision and his thorn
12 I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know – God knows. 3 And I know that this man – whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows – 4 was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. 5 I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. 6 Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, 7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Explore
We probably all have a friend who loves to tell their latest story, especially if it makes them look good. Similarly, Paul’s adversaries sought to present themselves in the best possible light. Once more, Paul finds himself forced to match his opponents’ tactics… once more, he inverts them. Rather than basking in the distinction of a fresh event and dwelling on every aspect, he picks one 14 years old and glosses over the detail. Rather than enjoying disclosing the sublime spiritual insights he received, he declares them off limits. Rather than writing personally, he talks as if he is describing someone else… before returning to the theme of weakness, the culmination of his ‘boasting’. Do you ever tell stories that make you look bad?
Although we don’t know what it is, his ‘thorn in the flesh’ is Paul’s paradoxical trump card. His opponents would never think that a true apostle would be tormented by Satan or not see victory through prayer (vs 7,8). In playing his hand, Paul points to a truth that undergirds his approach, undercuts his attackers and resounds with cross-shaped truth. It is not our worldly successes but our weaknesses and struggles that are places of God’s grace, power, strength and glory. Does Paul’s ongoing struggle help you as you reflect on your own?
Respond
Write a prayer to God about a specific difficulty, asking that he would turn it into a place of grace for his glory.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Ecclesiastes 1–3; 2 Thessalonians 2
Pray for Scripture Union
Following the Tees Valley holiday club initiative in the summer, please pray for the churches involved, that God will guide them as they plan follow-up activities for the children and young people with whom they have connected. (This week's prayers relate to this article.)
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