"A Promise Instead"

"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."  2 Corinthians 12:9

Paul had a "thorn in the flesh" and he prayed three times for the Lord to remove it.  The Lord didn't remove it though.  Sometimes no matter how much you pray, no matter how much you fast, no matter how much you bargain with God, kick and scream, cry and beg, stand in faith, confess the scriptures, there are some things that you are just going to have to go through.  In God's perfect knowledge, divine counsel and excellent plan for your life, He sees fit to allow you to walk down certain paths sometimes instead of removing them.  In Paul's case, this "thorn" was given so that he would not be "exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations". (verse 7)

Paul was not being "punished" with this "thorn", he was being "protected".  It was an instrument to keep him humble.  It was there to keep him from becoming full of pride because of the great revelations that he had received.  Paul saw and knew things that most mortal men did not.  It would have been easy for pride to take hold of him.  Thus, causing his destruction. (Proverbs 16:18)

Have you prayed for a "thorn" to be removed, yet it is still there?  It might be meant for your protection.  It might be meant to perfect the character of Christ in you.  It might be there to produce the Fruit of the Spirit in your life.  It might be there to keep you from destruction.  I don't know.  But this I do know, God did not remove the thorn from Paul but He gave him a promise instead.  He promised to give him His grace to bear it and His strength to go through it.  The same promise is given to you.  If you are having to walk through it, if you are having to deal with a "thorn", His grace is sufficient enough so you can keep going and His strength will be made perfect when you get weak.

Have a great day.  Sometimes God won't remove the thorn, but He will give you a promise instead.  
 

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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell

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