God Uses People #7

The Apostle Paul was stoned at Lystra and left for dead. He finally got up and went on. The story in Acts seems to fit the timetable of 2 Corinthians 12. If this is so it stands to reason that Paul did have an experience of death and then resuscitated. If so he speaks of the unspeakable.
He also says in order to keep him from bragging about that experience God gave him a weakness.

The process by which God made him weak was described as a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me. The word messenger is angel or demon. To buffet means to be beat up, or pounded on. That is great description of our weakness. It beats up on or pounds on us. We experience attacks and are vulnerable to attack and recurrences of weakness.

The purpose of the weakness was to keep him from being boastful or proud. Our pride is probably the greatest detriment to the work of God in all of us. “God gives grace to the humble.” “Exalt yourself and I will humble you.” Let me assure you that in spite of your weakness that God is in control. He is very aware of your weaknesses and has provided grace (His divine enablement) to see us through. Paul goes so far as to brag about his weakness. Not for the purpose of glorifying himself or his weakness but to show the amazing power of God’s grace.

At some point all of us are broken, damaged, cracked and imperfect. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden the core of humanity was dismantled. Sin left its mark. Sin left humanity with shame, guilt, fear, blame, loneliness, anger, and powerlessness. These weaknesses caused us to become dependent upon God. We need to receive the thorn in our flesh as a gift from God. The Message translates the thorn in the flesh as ‘gift of a handicap.’

We serve and minister out of weakness. We are all struggling with our humanness. No wonder Paul wrote to the Philippians, “I can do all things through Christ who gives strength to me.” He realized it was Jesus and not him that overcame his weaknesses to show forth the power and the glory of Christ.

Most people remind me of an eighteen year old behind the wheel of his car. Nothing can ever happen to me I am invincible. Get real. We are weak. We are apart from God, a train wreck looking for a place to happen. I was told in seminary to not let my church folks know about my weaknesses. Let me tell you a secret. They already did. So does God and only by His grace are you acceptable.

Did you ever take a look at the Bible crew that God used? Moses stuttered and disobeyed. David committed adultery, lied and committed murder. John Mark deserted his mission. Timothy worried a lot. Hosea’s wife was a prostitute. Amos was just a farmer. Jacob was a liar. Naomi was a widow. Paul was a persecutor. Jonah ran from God. Gideon and Thomas were doubters.
Jeremiah stayed depressed and suicidal. Elijah was burned out and was depressed. Martha was a worry wart. Noah got drunk and committed incest. Solomon was rich and a sex addict. Abraham and Sarah were too old. Peter was afraid. Lazarus was dead and a host of Biblical characters struggled with a temper.

Yet God in His grace used them. The process by which God made you dependent upon Him is your own personal weakness. The great lesson Paul learned through his weakness was that “when I am weak then I am strong.” The reason he was strong in weakness was because he became so dependent upon God that the grace of God became his strength.