We find strength through our moments of weakness
II Corinthians 12:7b-9 (NIV), ... there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But the Lord said to me, “(No), My grace is sufficient for you, My power is made perfect in (your) weakness.”
Paul wrote that he begged the Lord three times to take a serious problem away from Him. And God said no to the prince of the Apostles. Would Paul have been a better apostle without this serious problem? No. Had God removed Paul’s problem, maybe Paul would have never completely embraced God’s grace. This all sufficient and holy grace made Paul care not what men thought him to be, but to care about what God wanted him to be.
Paul’s problem kept Paul humble. Paul’s problem reminded him of his need for constant contact with God. Paul’s problem benefited those around Paul as they saw the power of God at work in Paul’s life.
It is the glory of the Gospel that in our weaknesses we may find this wondrous strength because of the grace of God. As it has been said before, “man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.”
God will always answer our prayers, but He will answer them in His way and His time, not ours. And God’s way and time will be of perfect wisdom and of perfect love. Often, if God answered our prayers as we at the moment desired, it would be the worst thing for us and could possibly cause our ruin.
The great preacher Fred Craddock once observed that it is the nature of grace (God’s unmerited mercy and love for man and woman) that it can only enter empty spaces. That is to say, God’s power and revelation comes to us most often, not when we are full and happy and everything is going our way, but when we are running on empty and have nothing else to go on. When we are weak, then by God’s grace, we are strong.
You say God does not answer your prayers? Maybe He does, but you don’t like the answers or maybe you just aren’t listening to the spiritual leanings of your Christian heart. God is not a cosmic bell-hop to do whatever we want and desire. God is primarily concerned with the eternal destiny of our souls and not necessarily working out our earthly problems and cares.
Dr. James Dobson, who nearly died from a major stroke, wrote, “To those of you who have suffered distressing or even terminal illnesses, I am keenly aware that divine healing of the kind I experienced does not always occur. God is sovereign, and He sometimes says “yes” and sometimes “no.” God said “no” emphatically to my dear father who died much too early. Thus, I can’t explain why I was spared the ravages of this neurological disorder while others have suffered terribly.”
Dr. Dobson goes on to write, “It all comes down to this: we are here for a brief moment to serve and worship God. Then we who are believers in Christ will go to be with Him forever in paradise. Everything else, including our illnesses and trials, are temporary and insignificant in the larger scheme of things. In the meantime, God wants us to trust Him even when we can’t understand Him.”
Job said: Though the Lord slay me, yet will I trust Him.
When God says no to you and to me, like He did to Job, will we still love and trust God?
When God says no to you and to me, like He did to the Apostle Paul, can we confidently proclaim, “It is well with my soul?”