FEAR >> COURAGE #5 (Summer 2011) Dr. David Staff
FEAR to COURAGE: Grace & Power for what Life brings my Way
1 Corinthians 12
Have you ever had a thorn, or a decent-sized sliver, imbedded in your hand? You were working in the flower garden, or perhaps running your hand on a tree branch, a splintered bench, or some rough piece of wood. When you get a sliver, or worse a thorn, you immediately know it, and you want to do something about it. You want it gone.
In my 57 years, of course, I’ve had a bunch of them. My experience is that a thorn has this relentless, irritating ability (if you will) of imbedding itself in your finger or hand deeply, and then just refusing to come out!. Oftentimes, I’ve not been immediately successful of getting it out, and usually it happens when I don’t have the time to deal with it. So, I try to get on with other things—ignore the thorn--but it is still there. I think, “if I can just use the other parts of my hand where the thorn isn’t, it won’t be a problem.” But then, as you resume your normal activities…doggone it, you put pressure on your finger or palm where the thorn is, and “Ouch!”; it is really uncomfortable. And sooner rather than later, it becomes a priority; I can’t do much else until I get it out.
The fact is that when something is wrong with us, physically, it is really hard for us simply to ignore it. Unless it’s a virus that simply as to “run its course,” stuff like that usually doesn’t get any better on its own. Most of the time we need help to get rid of that which is hurting and crippling our life. You go to a doctor, or a specialist. We need help.
You know, of all the things we may be afraid of, one of the most dreaded is the prospect of having to live with something that is really painful, or difficult, and isn’t getting any better.
In his must-read book entitled How Long, O Lord? (a title take from Psalm 6:3) Donald Carson talks about this. In his chapter “The Suffering People of God,” he reminds us
It is overwhelmingly important to reflect on the fact that Psalm 6, and dozens of similar ones, are included in Scripture. There is no attempt in Scripture to whitewash the anguish of God’s people when they undergo suffering. They argue with God, they complain to God, they weep before God. Theirs is not a faith that leads to dry-eyed stoicism, but a faith so robust it wrestles with God.[i]
When you cry out to God, “How long, O Lord?”? and his reply is “longer,” what do you do?
I’d like us to find the help we need in some very important verses found in the 2nd letter Paul wrote to the Corinthians (chpt 12). Follow as I read for us – this is Paul, to the Corinthian Christians.
2 Corinthians 12:1I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.
2I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. 3And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— 4and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. 5On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. 6Though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me.
7So to keep me from becoming conceited [here Paul reveals that the man he’s been speaking abouat is himself] because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.
8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.
9But 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
You might be asking, “Why is Paul writing this to these Christians?” The short answer is the Christians at Corinth (in Paul’s absence) were being pulled away from their commitment to Christ through false teachers, through false apostles. One of the tactics of these false teachers was to criticize and belittle Paul for all kinds of things – his halting speech, his unimpressive appearance, even all the trouble he’d experienced in his life. If these false teachers could diminish Paul in the eyes of the Corinthians, they could also diminish his gospel about Christ and his teaching about Christ…they could steal the hearts of the Corinthian believers.
So, Paul writes this letter to them as a defense of his life and ministry. Here, in chapter 12 as the Spirit prompts his writing, he’s explaining that his struggles – like this thorn in the flesh that won’t go away – is actually God’s will in his life.
And, his experience with this thorn, and God, offer to us some critically needed perspective when “a thorn will not go away.” What are we to do with that? Why is it there? How does the Spirit
of God use Paul’s experience to teach us about “when a thorn won’t go away”?
By the way, do you have something like this going on in your life? A struggle, a long-term hurting, an imbedded thorn that you wish with all your heart God would finally deal with? Is it causing you to live in fear, or bitterness?
I’ve known Christians – sold out to Jesus Christ Christians – who’ve lived with very tough things for a very long time. Christian slaves in the 1800’s lived under the painful treatment of their masters for decades. The great English Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon ministered the gospel all his life despite chronic depression. Joni Eareckson Tada has been in a wheelchair since 1967, more recently has had to fight breast cancer and chronic pain [recent Christianity Today article – “Joni Eareckson Tada on Something Greater than Healing”[ii], Paul Miller (A Praying Life) asked God over and over again to cure his daughter’s autism; God never did.
But in all these situations, God was doing something else. Something more important, something more powerful.
So, what are we to learn from Paul…and others…about “a thorn that won’t go away”? 2Corinthians 12 teaches that there’s something TRUE about this situation, something IMPORTANT, something NECESSARY and something uniquely POWERFUL.
I. It’s TRUE: God purposefully gives His Servants long-term thorns 2 Corinthians 12:7
7So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me,
“A thorn” (or “pointed stake, splinter”); “was given” (brought uninvited into his life); “to harass” (lit. to strike with a fist, to treat roughly). As in the life of Job, God allowed something very difficult, quite painful, unwelcomed, even surprising, into the life of someone who was His own. Not at random, but with a purpose.
Secondly, Paul’s example teaches that in dealing with a thorn that won’t go away…
II. It’s IMPORTANT: Plead with God to Understand the Purpose 2 Corinthians 12:8
7b a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
Might we imagine what Paul’s prayer – or, we should say prayers (3) -- sounded like to God?
1st Pleading – “Lord, what’s this? I mean honestly, is this really necessary? I mean, it’s not like I’m not on mission here, right? Is there any possible reason this pointed, thorny-stick harassment has to be in my life right now?”
GOD: Paul, you’ve my servant, and you’ve seen things and know things about Me and
glory and heaven and eternity that no one else has ever seen. I know how prone you are to personal haughtiness and pride. This “thorn” is a good thing in your life right now. My grace will see you through…
2nd Pleading – (who knows how much later) “Lord God, Can we talk about this again? This thorn has been in my flesh for a while now, and, well, it’s not getting any better. Seems worse. I mean, I get it, OK? You won’t hear me boasting over what You’ve shown me…and I promise I won’t use my experiences to promote myself or leverage other people. Can we be done with this now?”
GOD: Dear Paul, you’re my treasured servant. I know you think that you’ve learned your lesson about pride and boasting, but there’s more heart-work that I know needs doing. Your life is in My Hands; I know what I’m doing. Keep drawing on my grace. Others are watching…
3rd Pleading – “Father, God...please. That last go around with this Satanic messenger was really difficult. I mean, You know I’ve been through a lot, but this seemed over the top. I’ve never felt so weak, so wasted…so discouraged, Lord. Please…can this be over? Please?
GOD: My dear son…I know you feel like a broken, cracked clay pot…perhaps ready to fall apart. But, the grace I am giving you moment by moment is sufficient. I’m so strong through you when you are weak. Do you understand this yet?
Joni Eareckson Tada, who in September of last year (2010) offered us A Place of Healing: Wrestling with the Mysteries of Suffering, Pain, and God’s Sovereignty,[iii] cited Psalm 119:67 in her chapter “What Benefit is there to My Pain?” The verse reads, “Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I obey your word.” Joni comments:
“Well,” you may say, “I’ve heard that before. That’s nothing really new.” But (she continues) think about it: For this man at this particular place in his life, it was something new. And the thought stopped him in his tracks. It had suddenly dawned on him that the trouble in his life—sorrowful, upsetting, annoying, pressure-packed, or painful as it may have been at the time—had been good for him, and had been specifically allowed by God to benefit him.
Say what you will, my friend, but that is a profound realization for anyone. No, he wasn’t saying that the trouble itself was good. Far from it! But looking back, he could (now) honestly admit that it had produced a good effect.
It had turned him…and he’d needed turning.
You have a Father who knows best how to so orchestrate what is going on in your life to “turn you” (if needed), to check up and root out pride (if necessary), to shape your character and life so that you “get out of the way” and God’s power can begin to shine through. The writer of Hebrews says (quoting Prov 3:11), “MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR
FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES (Heb 12:5-6).” What’s true is that God can bring in a thorn. What’s important is to plead with God about it. 3rd – there’s something…
III. It’s NECESSARY: Embrace the Sufficient Grace of God 2 Corinthians 12:9
9But 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
This is the very point where you/I choose to exchange your fear and frustration for what God is seeking to do in your life and character. Rather than demanding from God an answer of prayer for relief, you begin to understand that God’s helping grace is going to be “sufficient.” Literally, here is what God said to Paul, reflected in the text: “Enough for you, that which satisfies is for you…that is, my grace.” God’s promise to Paul would be he would receive from God all the right kind of help required to turn the weakness of the “thorn” into an expression of God’s power.
“Therefore,” Paul concludes, “I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness.” I’ll delight in this, “so that the power of Christ may rest on me.”
When the thorn won’t go away, it’s TRUE that God is behind it. It’s IMPORTANT to plead with God about it, to understand his purpose in it. It’s NECESSARY to reject bitterness and fear, and to embrace the gracious help of God for each day. And fourthly,
IV. It’s (paradoxically) POWERFUL: When weak, strong!
10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
CONCLUSION
Earlier, I quoted from Joni’s book A Place of Healing: Wrestling with the Mysteries of Suffering, Pain, and God’s Sovereignty. You’ll recall that as a Christian teenager, Joni dove into uncharted waters and broke her neck and spine. She nearly nearly drowned. It’s been 40+ years since that happened; the book was a reflection on 4 decades years in a wheelchair. Listen to her words:
What does God think about four decades of paralysis? I got my answer not long ago when I
read Joshua 24:7, where the Lord recounts for His children all the trials they endured after they
left Egypt. He tenderly reminds them, “Then you lived in the desert for a long time.”
I don’t know if I’ll ever see a miraculous healing this side of my gravestone. But I do know that usually after 40 years of testing, after a 40 year trial, there are always moments of victory, power and jubilation. All I know is each ensuing year brings more people with disabilities into the fellowship of sharing in Christ’s sufferings. More people who desire to live to the glory of God. More people whose miracle is a heaven-sent smile, not in spite of the paralysis, but because of it.
Here are the answers God has given to me through the years
Answer #1 I can go on because God moves through time with me.
Answer #2 I can go on because I know God can use broken instruments to make incomparable music.
Answer #3 I can go on because Jesus is my consolation
Answer #4 I can go on because right now counts forever.
She relates the story of the great violinist Yitzak Perlman, a child victim of polio and walks with crutches and braces on both legs. “Instead of arranging to be seated on stage at the beginning of the performance, he chooses to walk across the stage methodically and slowly until he reaches his chair. He sits, puts down his crutches, undoes the clasps on his legs, bends down, picks up the violin, nods to the conductor, and proceeds to play.
During a 1995 concert, a strong on Perlman’s violin suddenly snapped, and everyone in the audience could hear it. The great virtuoso stopped and gazed at the broken string as those in attendance that night wondered what he would do. Perlman closed his eyes, and after a moment of reflection, signaled the conductor to begin again.
Though anyone who knows music understands that it’s impossible to play a symphonic work with just three strings, Perlman was undaunted. Apparently, you could see this superb artist actually recomposing the piece in his head as he went along, inventing new fingering positions to coax the never-before-heard sounds from his 3-string violin.
The sophisticated NY audience watched and listened in awe, knowing they were witnessing a truly groundbreaking performance. When the piece was over, they exploded into appreciative applause. Mr. Perlman smiled, wiped the sweat from his brow, and said in a soft, reverent tone, “You know, sometimes it is the artist’s task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left.”
“This is the lesson [Joni writes] I’ve learned in the wheelchair for so many years—and have to relearn in these days (and nights) of unremitting pain. Sometimes you have to take what’s left and coax out of life something new and different…God is the one who finds incomparable beauty and makes matchless music using the most unexpected and unlikely of instruments.” [iv]
Copyright 2011 © David A. Staff
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