Afflicted for Good (2 Corinthians 12:9 [10])

… “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. [¹⁰For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.] —2 Corinthians 12:9 [10]

Our passage this week picks up in the middle of Paul telling the Corinthians about the physical affliction he was suffering. He called it a thorn in his flesh. When Paul asked the Lord to take it away, His answer was no. But that’s not all God said.

We don’t know exactly what Paul’s thorn was, only that it was a bodily weakness. What we do know is that God had a good purpose for it: “to keep [Paul] from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations” given to him. Jesus had revealed Himself to Paul in dramatic ways, even catching him “up to the third heaven…into paradise” where the Lord taught him what he would need to know in order to serve as His apostle. Paul had seen, heard, and experienced things so marvelous and miraculous that they were temptations to boast in himself. Twice in verse 7 he said the thorn was “to keep him from becoming conceited.”

Whatever the affliction was that caused Paul weakness in his flesh, it was also the very thing that gave occasion for him to experience the power of Christ resting on him. Out of weakness, power. 

This isn’t the only paradox in our passage. The thorn that motivated him to boast in Christ was also, he said, “a messenger of Satan to harass me.” How could the same affliction accomplish both a righteous goal—preventing sinful conceit—and a diabolical one—harassing one of God’s own?

Many times in Scripture we see our Sovereign God working through the means of others' sinful deeds in order to accomplish His righteous plans. In Genesis 50:20, Joseph told his brothers that what they meant for evil by selling him into slavery, God meant “for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive.” In Acts 2:23-24, Peter preached to those gathered at Pentecost about how Jesus was “delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God… [and] crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” The evil deeds of lawless men were part of God’s glorious plan for the redemption of mankind. 

Health and wealth preachers would have us believe that illness, injury, job loss, and every other sort of suffering are merely because we lack faith. Similarly, in light of all that Paul suffered—beatings, shipwrecks, stoning, imprisonment, and more (see 2 Corinthians 11:23-28), the false teachers who opposed him in Corinth said he "suffered too much to be a Spirit-filled apostle of the risen Christ" (ESV Study Bible, p. 2219). Such people claim that it’s God’s will for His children to be healthy and happy. But Jesus told us we would have trouble in this life (John 16:33). Peter and James also warned us that trials would be necessary and urged us to meet them with joy (1 Peter 1:6 and James 1:2).

The Bible is candid: life is hard. But God's Word doesn’t stop there. He reveals that He has plans to work every single one of our heartaches, trials, and even tribulations for our good. We see that pattern in 2 Corinthians.

The thorn was a messenger of Satan to harass Paul. He couldn’t rebuke or pray it away in faith because that’s not all it was. It was also a tool God sent to keep him from becoming conceited. When Paul asked the Lord–three times–to take it away, God didn’t simply answer no. He said, “my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Not only was God’s grace sufficient for Paul to keep enduring the thorn—which it was—it also focused Paul’s attention on boasting in his weakness. When the affliction caused Paul pain, it reminded him to depend on Christ. And when he depended on Christ, he felt the power of Christ resting on him. 

What a hope-filled image. How often have we struggled in our own strength to keep going when we’re weak? How much better to lean into our weakness, embracing it as a cause for depending on Christ, knowing that He has promised that His grace is sufficient. When we turn to Christ in faith, we can say with Paul, because of Christ, “when I am weak, then I am strong” (10b). 

When we feel strong, we don’t need anyone else’s strength. It’s in weakness that we know we need Christ’s strength. In reality, though, we are always weak. We’re never able to do anything alone. Our very breath and life depend on God’s sustaining power (Acts 17:25). But when we’re facing challenging circumstances, trials, and suffering, we feel our weakness. That's not a bad place to be. When we feel weak, we're reminded to cry out to God for strength—strength He has promised to supply. Such comfort hidden in suffering is one more reason to praise the goodness and grace of our God.

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For Reflection

1. What sorts of physical pain keep you dependent on God? 

2. Give thanks that God invites you to pray for healing and to thank Him for His grace until He does, whether in this life or the next. 

3. Praise God this week that He is utterly dependable and that His grace is sufficient for every hard thing in your life.

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Candice Watters is the editor of Fighter Verses and contributor to Truth78's webinars. She and her husband, Steve, lead the VBS ministry for their church in Louisville, KY. They are the co-authors of Start Your Family: Inspiration for Having Babies. They have three sons, one daughter, and one daughter-in-law.