God's Strength in our Weaknesses

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

A thorn in the flesh was given to the apostle Paul, a messenger of Satan to buffet him, lest he should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations.

There is always a danger for Christian to exalt himself above measure, when he realises that he is abundantly blessed. The more blessed we are, the more danger we are in. We begin to exalt ourselves, and boast of our achievements before God and men.

As Christians, our objective in life should be like that of John the Baptist : "He must increase, but I must decrease." The Lord Jesus Christ must be seen as our Lord in all we have and in all we do. The more blessings we receive from God, the more humbled we should become.

But the opposite is often true when we becomes complacent, and begin to take pride in all we have and in all we do. Like the apostle Paul, some of us are given a thorn in the flesh to humble us. We are reminded often that all we have is from God.

The apostle Paul was blessed with the abundance of revelations. To stop him from exalting himself, a thorn in the flesh was given to him, a messenger of Satan to buffet him. Three times he pleaded with God that it might depart from him. But God refused, and He said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” 

The apostle Paul stopped crying about his thorn in the flesh. Instead, he gladly boasted about his infirmities. The power of Christ is made perfect is our weaknesses. It is when we confess our weaknesses before God that the power of Christ rests upon us. 

The apostle Paul took pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. He understood that when he was weak, God would work mightily in him and through him!

As Christians, we are reminded of the same. Let us stop boasting about what we have and what we do. Let us continue our pilgrimage on earth, bearing in mind that "When We are weak, then we are strong".

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us." (Corinthians 4:7)

It is good to remind ourselves that we are earthern vessels for God's use. God will empower us to accomplish His will for us.

A New Person

The apostle Paul hated Jesus and persecuted His followers.

But a personal encounter and spiritual union with Christ changed him.

He became a new person. 

The old order of sin, death, and selfishness was gone.

A new beginning, a new covenant, a new perspective and way of living had come.

Following Jesus is not turning over a new leaf.

It is beginning a new life under a new Master.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; 

Old things have passed away; 

Behold, all things have become new. 

—2 Corinthians 5:17

Fleeing Persecution

Matthew 10:23a
When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another.

One of the biblical responses to persecution is to flee.
It is not the only response.
It is therefore imperative that the persecuted believer is sure that his running away is in the will of God.

History is full of examples of Christians who relocated because of religious persecution.

The early Christians in Jerusalem didn’t obey Jesus’ orders to evangelize to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).
So God allowed persecution to send them on their way (Acts 8:1).
Persecution accomplished the will of God.
As they scattered abroad, they went preaching the gospel (Acts 8:4).

The Apostle Paul left Damascus over the wall in a basket when a life threat was discovered early in his ministry.
He knew it was not yet God’s timing for his life and ministry to end.
That occurred years later in Rome.

Let us resolve to only run from persecution
when we know it is the will of God.

Let us pray for leaders who have to live in hiding
because of their effective ministry for the Lord and His church.

Paul, The Ambassador Of God

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God (Rom. 1:1)

His Condition. Paul began by proclaiming himself to be a servant of Christ Jesus. He chose to humble himself. And this was the secret of his greatness! As a servant, he had no personal rights. His life was totally sold out to the will of God.

His Calling. Paul said he was an apostle. He was a representative of King Jesus and he operated under His Divine authority. When he spoke, he spoke for the Lord. When he acted, he acted as a representative of the throne of Heaven. His authority was the very authority of God Himself.

His Commission. Paul said he had been set apart for the Gospel of God. His life has been separated for the glory of God and for the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing else mattered to him but the things that mattered to God. His commission was to carry the good news of Jesus to a world trapped in sin.

The Gospel is a special message.

• It is the Gospel of God. It is His plan alone.

• It is born in the heart of God. God is love (1 John 4:8) and He does not want to see a single sinner die without Him (2 Pet. 3:9). His love is so great that He will stop at nothing to get the message out.

• It is the only Gospel that will save the lost. God only knows of one plan that will save the lost soul (Acts 16:3; Acts 4:12; John 3:16).

Paul considered himself to be a slave to Jesus, an ambassador of God, and a proclaimer of the good news of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.

God holds the same expectation for us. We are to go forth into the world with His message, as His representatives in His Name and power, and we are to tell His Good News to those who are perishing.

Are you an ambassador of God?