2 Corinthians 12

The Explanation

Paul is writing a letter, and his hand is shaking a little. Not from being sick. From something harder.

In the city of Corinth there are people saying nasty things about him. "Paul isn't much," they whisper. "Other teachers are stronger. Louder. Better."

So Paul writes something strange. He says, "All right. You want me to boast? Then let me tell you about a man."

And he tells about someone who was caught up, all the way up, into the third heaven. Into Paradise. That man heard words so beautiful, so holy, that no person is allowed to repeat them here on earth. Was he really lifted up with his body? Paul says he does not know. "God knows," he writes.

That man was Paul himself. Fourteen years ago.

Can you imagine? Standing where God is, hearing what angels hear? You would think Paul would talk about that every single day. But he almost never does.

Because something else happened afterward.

Paul calls it a thorn in the flesh. Like a splinter you cannot pull out. Something that hurt him and kept hurting him. We do not know exactly what it was. Paul does not say. But it was bad enough that he got down on his knees and begged God to take it away.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

And God said no.

But listen to how God said no. He said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

That means: I am with you. You do not have to be strong. When you are weak, that is exactly where My strength shows up.

And then Paul writes the most surprising sentence in the whole letter. "When I am weak, then am I strong."

What Does This Mean?

Paul could have made himself look enormous. He had been to heaven! Instead he tells everyone about the thing that hurts.

Why? Because Paul figured something out. If people think Paul is amazing, they look at Paul. But if people see that Paul is small and tired and still keeps going, they start to wonder: who is holding him up?

That is Jesus. Paul wants everyone to see Jesus, not Paul.

He tells the Corinthians the truth about himself, too. He never took their money. He was not trying to get their stuff. "I seek not your possessions, but you," he writes. Like a parent saving up for a child, Paul spends everything he has on them. Even when they do not love him back much.

The Common Thread

Think about Jesus for a moment. He was the strongest one who ever lived, and He hung on a cross, weak, thirsty, hurting. That looked like losing. It was the moment everything was won.

God works the other way round from what we expect. Not through people who shout the loudest. Through people who let Him carry them.

So when God said no to Paul's prayer, it was not a cold no. It was a no with His arms around Paul. "You keep the splinter. You get Me."

For You

Maybe there is something about you that feels small. You are the slowest runner. You cannot read as fast as the girl next to you. You get scared of the dark and you wish you did not.

You can tell God about it. Honestly. Out loud. And here is the thing: sometimes God takes it away, and sometimes He says, "I am staying right here with you."

Try this today. Find someone who is having a hard time, a little brother who fell, a kid alone at the fence, and go stand next to them. Do not fix everything. Just be there.

That is what God does for you.

Talk About It

What is something you find hard, that you could tell God about tonight?

Why do you think Paul talked about his weak side instead of his amazing trip to heaven?

Praying Together

Lord Jesus, I am not always strong. You know that. Thank You that Your love is enough for me, even on my hardest days. Please stay close. Amen.