Christ's perfection in my weakness

God was doing great things through Paul, but continued to allow him to be afflicted by a “thorn in the flesh.” We don’t know for sure what the thorn was - a physical ailment, a mental or emotional instability or insecurity, or a significant temptation, possibly. Whatever it was, Paul believed that it limited the effectiveness of his ministry, and he asked God repeatedly to remove it.

But God didn’t remove it. Why? Because the work God was doing through Paul was so great that Paul was in danger of “getting a big head” or of others giving him too much credit for the results that belonged only to God. The fact that Paul’s imperfections were so obvious made it also obvious that the lives changed through Paul’s ministry could only have been changed by God himself.

What are the things that I continue to ask God to remove from me - impatience, insecurity, distrust? All of those things aren’t very Christ-like, and would seemingly limit the effectiveness of my ministry. Yet God allows these thorns to continue to poke me every so often…to remind me that the work he is doing through me is his and his alone…that I cannot take credit for it, and that it happens in spite of (and not because of) my efforts. And instead of being distraught about the fact that I am so imperfect, I can embrace my imperfections - be “well content with weaknesses,” as Paul was - and see them as the backdrop against which Christ’s perfection is brilliantly illuminated.

Created over 4 years ago