Our church recently had a visiting rabbi who challenged us to not just read Scriptures but to study them, to look up the words and find out exactly what they meant. I was excited to hear him say this because as previously stated, I am a nerd who already likes to do this! His challenge was confirmation that I was doing the right thing and so I decided to continue by taking a more in depth look at a verse he had shared with us. The verse was 2 Corinthians 12:10 and although he shared with us what some of the words meant, unfortunately, I couldn’t write fast enough to get it all down.
This wasn’t a bad thing though because it gave me the opportunity to study them on my own. Before I get ahead of myself let me share the verse with you! “Therefore, I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” We are going to take a brief look at the meaning of each of the words and see what Paul was actually saying in this verse now. Weaknesses means illness and infirmity. Insult means to revile or speak violently to. Distresses mean difficulty, anguish, agony, or pain.
Persecutions mean to punish or hunt down like an animal. And difficulties mean great distress, pressure, or confinement. Now, let us again look at what Paul said by inserting a few of these definitions in the verse. Therefore I am well content with… illness and infirmity, when people speak violently to me, when I am tortured, when I am punished and hunted down like an animal, when I am under great pressure and even imprisoned for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak I am made strong. Whew! Um, wow God! What a verse! I have never admired Paul more than I do in this moment!
The New King James Version words the first part of 2 Corinthians 12:10 as “Therefore I take pleasure in…” Paul was honestly saying he had learned to take pleasure in these things because it meant Christ’s power was displayed through him in these moments. Illness, infirmity, cruel words, torture, punishment, tremendous pressure, and imprisonment could all be opportunities for Christ to be glorified. They could all be opportunities for Christ’s strength to be displayed through us. Hmm, at the moment I am seriously reconsidering this “learn exactly what the words mean” thing!
This is some deep stuff and I find that my heart is beating faster as I consider the challenge behind Paul’s words. Depending on which version of the Bible you read you will see the words “take pleasure in”, “well pleased with”, “delight in”, or “well content with” used to describe how Paul felt about the hardships he faced. I honestly don’t know what to say in the face of such devotion to Christ. I look back over this verse and I have to ask myself a very difficult question. Can I truly say this? Can I truly say what Paul said and know in my heart that I mean it?
I want to but I don’t know that I am there yet my friend. I want to be this sold out to Jesus. I want to be this devoted to glorifying my beloved Savior, but I confess I am not yet at the point of “delighting in” or even being “well content with” these things. Honesty forces me to confess I cannot yet say this verse and mean it with all my heart like Paul did. No, in my own strength I cannot do it… But God! With His help, I can get there; with His help, I can die to self and be willing to suffer for His sake, for His glory. In fact, the only way anyone could say this and mean it is with His help.
I look around and I see that we are all facing challenges we’ve never faced before and I realize that as the body of Christ, this is our moment. This is our moment to show the world the difference Christ makes in the life of the believer. This is our chance to courageously set the example as we allow Christ’s strength to shine through our weaknesses. This is our chance to show the world the Christ within us; this is our chance to let His light shine through us. But how do we do this? How do we take the challenges we are facing and use them to glorify Christ?
First, we have to learn to see them as just that… opportunities to glorify Christ. The reason Paul could be content with the difficulties he faced was because he saw them as opportunities for people to see Christ in him, opportunities for Christ to be glorified. He rejoiced in his sufferings because he saw them as opportunities for the “power of Christ” to rest upon him. The hard times were chances for him to learn to depend solely upon Christ’s strength to see Him through. If we are to be a light in this time of difficulty, we too must learn to depend solely upon Christ’s strength.
“And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness’” 2 Corinthians 12:9. We must learn to gain our strength from Him if we wish to stand firm and be a godly example to the world around us. In our time of weakness, we look to Him for the strength we need! “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Phil. 4:13. With His help we can face any challenge that comes our way, which leads me to our next step in being a light for Him in the darkness around us. We must not let fear control us.
If you back up to 2 Corinthians chapter eleven you will see that Paul was no stranger to hard times. This man of God had faced beatings, a stoning, multiple shipwrecks, prison, hunger, and the threat of death. Yet, in spite of all the difficulties he faced, Paul was fearless in his determination to be a light for Christ to the world around him. Nothing stopped this man from sharing Jesus with everyone he could. He had every reason to fear, yet the only One he feared was God. And that fear overrides all other fears. When you learn to fear God above all else you find your other fears lose their grip on you.
No matter what happens in the world around us, we do not have to fear because, “our lives are in His hands” (Psalms 66:9). We are safe in His hands and everything that touches us must first pass through the nail-scarred hands of our beloved Savior. We have no reason to fear because we can trust Him. Our faith in Him, our confident hope in His love are what gives us courage in the face of uncertainty. His Word repeatedly promises us that He cares for His children, so we have no reason to fear. He can be trusted. He has always been faithful to His Word and He will be now.
We can be an example to the world around us by not allowing fear to dominate us. Our faith and our courage can be an example and encouragement to those around us. In uncertain times, it is more important than ever to trust in a God whose faithfulness is always certain. Over and over again His Word urges us to “fear not” and now more than ever, this should be our goal. As His children, we must choose faith over fear. You are His beloved child and you have nothing to fear. Pick up your Bible and read it and you will see story after story revealing His faithfulness to care for His children.
Another thing we can learn from Paul, is the hard truth that life is not always easy for a believer. We are not promised an easy life and the truth is that difficulties are a part of life. In times of difficulties, it is important to remember that no matter how difficult things get, we are never alone. And in the midst of great difficulty, we have an opportunity to see the strength of Christ in ways we never have before. This is a chance to see Christ reveal Himself to us in ways He never has before. Our moments of weakness are opportunities for His strength to be revealed through us.
Maybe the things you are going through right now are making you wonder how you are going to make it through. My friend, I urge you to look to Him for the strength and guidance you need. Most every miraculous deliverance or miracle in the Bible came when the person was in their weakest and most vulnerable positions. (Think the Israelites at the Red Sea, Daniel in the lion’s den, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace, the disciples caught in the storm, Lazarus in the grave, etc.) “For with God, nothing will be impossible” Luke 1:37.
Sometimes the mess we’re in is the perfect backdrop for a miracle. Sometimes the storm we are in is a chance to see that our Savior still walks on the water. Sometimes the lions we are afraid of are just an opportunity to rest in His care and watch Him take care of us. The hottest flames can be the very place He comes to walk beside us and reveal Himself to us like never before! And Lazarus would be the first one to tell us that no situation is too hopeless for a miracle that turns everything around. Our circumstances may be difficult, but our God is still in control my friend!
The last thing I want us to learn from Paul’s example today is this. Let love be the reason behind everything you do. Paul’s life was characterized by two great loves that drove him to be the man that he was… his love for Christ and his love for his fellow man. This love guided every decision he made and helped him to persevere through the difficulties he faced. He could see difficulties and hard times as a good thing because of his great love for his Savior and the love for others. A love that compelled him to press on in spite of these hardships.
For Paul, hard times were opportunities to show his love for Christ by willingly suffering for His sake. They were opportunities to decrease so that Christ could increase in him (John 3:30). He kept His focus on Him and allowed Christ to use him to lead others to Him. During the challenges our world is facing right now, it is extremely important that we do our best to lead others to Him. We need to lead them to the only One who can offer them any lasting hope. We must be the light that leads them to the true Light. Believers, we must be a living example so that others are drawn to Him.
Maybe I can’t yet say what Paul said in 2 Cor. 12:10, but I can choose to allow Christ’s strength to be displayed through me in my time of weakness. I can choose to be content and not complain in these challenging times. I can choose to live by faith and look to Him for the strength I need. I can choose to be a godly example and do my best to point others to Him. I may not be able to do much, but I do still have the opportunity to choose my attitude during all of this. And I choose to glorify Him. I choose to let Him shine through me. I choose to let my weakness display His strength. I choose Him!
For more encouragement see:
Psalm 40, Psalm 91, Isaiah 54 & 61, Habakkuk 3:17-18
Katrina Douglas
