In your life, do you have:
Weakness: lack of strength and ability, especially when we most need it.
Insults: the sting of rejection, and the fear they speak truth.
Hardships: challenging circumstances that are out of our control.
Persecutions: feeling targeted and treated unfairly.
Difficulties: everything else that weighs us down, causes harm, and breaks our hearts.
Delight: celebratory joy over all of these things?!
Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians gets a little extreme. After emphasizing the intense turmoil he experienced while serving Christ, he asked- correction- pleaded with God to take away a persistent pain. He described it as a “thorn in the flesh.” We don’t know what troubled Paul, or whether it was emotional anguish or physical hurt. Perhaps that’s intentional, so we can relate our own experience without over-analyzing it.
God’s reply? “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” So that was a “no” on the request to remove the thorn. Instead, the Lord offered something much greater and more beneficial. Paul explained in the following verses that he now understood, which produced an unexpected reaction.
Instead of lamenting the pain, Paul delighted in it and went so far as to happily boast. Because this was when Christ’s power covered him, on display for all to see the goodness of the Lord. Suddenly, Paul’s weakness was transformed into strength. Not Paul’s own strength, but the power of God in Him, doing way more than Paul could do or imagine alone.
Before we say “good for Paul” and continue trying to survive life, can we consider that God’s grace is also enough for us and our circumstances?
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. - 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Have you ever watched Bob Ross paint on a black canvas? Against the background of black gesso, colors appeared bright and vibrant as Bob’s brush turned the dark surface into a brilliant landscape. The contrast between dark and light highlights beauty. On our canvas of pain, hardship, and weakness, God’s healing, goodness, and strength are very clear.
Does that mean that God causes hurt in order to display His glory? Not quite. God loves us with compassion beyond description and is working things together for our good (Romans 8:28 and Jeremiah 29:11 are familiar reminders). But, in this imperfect world, disasters happen and darkness creeps into our lives. When it does, God transforms it into something with beautiful purpose, like a sculptor creating a masterpiece from clay.
For me, it happened with divorce. The grief, rejection, lost love, shattered dreams, and life turned upside down were a nightmare. The dark tunnel of pain seemed to have no end, and certainly no light. But when God began His work like a master artist, beauty began to emerge in the landscape. His nurturing compassion was carried in the supportive arms of loved ones, comforting my heart until I began to feel His healing. He provided the things I needed as I navigated life without a partner by my side. He even moved me to take on a daunting new challenge: to work out my grief while training for and running a half marathon. This resulted in more than miles through my personal journey. By partnering with the organization World Vision, the race raised funds to provide clean water to kids around the world. I don’t know that I could ever say that I delighted in insults, hardship, and difficulty, but I certainly celebrated God’s goodness as He transformed the pain into purpose.
I am not unique. Paul was not a superhero. When God promises sufficient grace and strength, He means that for all of us. Let’s revisit the list:
Weakness.
Insults.
Hardships.
Persecution.
Difficulties.
Delight.
My prayer for you today is that you can see goodness in His grace and experience delight in His strength. The canvas of your life is becoming a beautiful masterpiece, transformed by each careful brushstroke from the hand of the compassionate Artist.