In 2 Corinthians chapter 12 Paul states that the enemy handed him an ailment to keep him, Paul, humble. Paul tells us that he asked God to take the ailment away on three different occasions. I was reading this scripture today and it struck me that God did not take the ailment away the first time that Paul prayed, nor did God take it away the second time Paul prayed nor did God take it away the third time that Paul prayed. In fact, it is notable that God never took the thorn away, but He told Paul that it was in weakenss that he would find his strength. Does that mean that Paul was ineffective at praying? Does that mean that Paul lacked the faith for God to remove the ailment from him? The modern church views Paul as a learned, wise, passionate and strong patriarch of faith. Paul was a fervent servant of God and in our hindsight we herald this apostle as one of the most articulate communicators of the truth and proof of Jesus Christ and he is credited for single handedly bringing the Word of God to gentiles. So what does all of this mean? Does it mean that God simply doesn't answer some prayers?
I'm glad that I've grabbed your curiosity. I'll tell you what all of this means. God in fact answered Paul the first time that Paul prayed. It took Paul three times to hear, process and understand God's response. So even the most revered Christians at times struggle to accept God's communication to us. Sometimes we pray fervently for the answer that we want. We sweat. We cry. We declare and we decree. We wail and we moan. We get others to pray with us. But you know what? God's answer is His answer and we need to hear it, process it, accept it and understand it. After the third time of God not removing the ailment that had been handed to Paul, Paul was finally in a place to hear what God had been trying to communicate to him from the first time that he had prayed. God was trying to tell Paul that He works best in our vulnerabilities and in our weakness. We hear from God more clearly in our broken state. We are more open for hearing His communication to us when we are in need. Not only that, but when we hear, process and accept God's communication, we move ourselves, our ideas of what is right and what should happen out of the way and we are able to allow God's will to be done in our lives. So many times He wants to show Himself strong. He wants to prove His word. He wants to be lifted up above our circumstances and situations. He wants to be lifted up above the earth so that He can draw others to Him and we are His conduit to make that happen. But understand that God's power shows up better on the backdrop of our ability to endure in spite of whatever situation or circumstance we find ourselves in. For Paul that was the thorn in his flesh, it was imprisonment, it was being beaten, and it was preaching the word anyway and in spite of and through it all. Paul's life serves as a powerful testament of how to persevere anyhow. So we may have felt badly for him because he had an ailment that He wanted God to take away, but you see we are able to overcome today because of Paul's powerful testimony that in the middle of a thorn and in the midst of jail and in the process of being beaten, Paul preached Jesus Christ to anyone who would listen and he did it with the same level if not even more passion! It was in this that God was lifted up above Paul's thorn. God was made the main focus.
Today, when you think of an ailment that you are struggling with or maybe one that a friend or relative is struggling with, understand that the answer may not always be for God to take that thing away. Some times it is, but not always. Accept God's will. Accept that God knows what He is doing. Trust that God has your best interest at the core of all that He does in your life. Trust that God will give you glory in the situation through sufficient grace. Trust Him, not what you are experiencing with your physical senses. Trust Him and take Him at His word. Hear His answer. Accept His answer. Understand His answer. Know that He will give you sufficient grace to endure. Know that He is the focus and His will is the primary objective.
