Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 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. (2 Corinthians 12:8-9 NIV)
Scripture doesn’t specify the exact nature of the Apostle Paul’s “thorn in the flesh.” However, I think we can safely assume that it was something that impaired his life in a significant way. He pleaded with the Lord to take it away from him three times, so we know it was a genuine problem for him.
Instead of removing Paul’s “thorn,” Jesus responded, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
In my last post, I talked about two events that took place in my life in 2013. My book, “Our Father: A Personal Journey of Discovery into the Lord’s Prayer,” was published, and I founded a Non-Profit Organization, “John 6 Ministries Inc.,” which became incorporated in NL, Canada, in May 2015.
I shared my reaction to God’s prompting to write a book, but I didn’t elaborate on my reaction to His speaking to my heart about forming a ministry. Honestly, both reactions were similar. My first reaction in both cases, was to doubt myself and think that I must have heard God wrong.
I was so unnerved by the thought that God wanted me to begin the work of establishing a ministry, that I essentially “buried my head in the sand” and practiced denial. I convinced myself that I must have heard God wrong, because the thought of that assignment from Him seemed too difficult for me.
Two months later, I was having Brunch with a couple of friends, one of whom is my sister, when she told me that God had laid on her heart that my ministry was supposed to be about “The Bread of Life.” THAT WAS IT! I couldn’t hide from God’s plan any longer as unbeknownst to her, He had spoken those exact words to me. The ministry He was asking me to start was to be based on the message that Jesus Christ said, “I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35 NIV) WOW! God couldn’t be any clearer than that.
Once I knew with certainty that God had revealed His plan to me for the formation of a ministry, the only response I could offer Him was, “Lord I’m willing, but I cannot do this without Your help…I don’t even know where to begin.”
At first, writing a book seemed insurmountable because of my physical disabilities, but because of modern technology, I felt that it could be done. This plan for a ministry was an entirely different matter…given my physical issues, it seemed impossible. BUT, I knew that if it was God’s plan, then it was possible and would be successful.
We are in our early stages of development yet, but we do have a team of people working together in service to the Lord, to accomplish the work of the ministry.
My physical weakness is visible so people are quite often inclined to feel sorry for me, and doubt my abilities. Honestly, I understand that in a way. I often doubt myself, but God proves Himself faithful at every step in my life. In my own strength, physical disability or not, I would be incapable of accomplishing the extraordinary tasks that God Divinely enables me to do. That is evidence that His grace is sufficient for ME, as it was for the Apostle Paul, and as it is for YOU.
Is He speaking to your heart about doing something extraordinary that would be impossible without His grace to enable you?
My prayer is, “Heavenly Father, thank you for enabling me to do extraordinary things. I am willing to do anything You ask of me. Please give me the grace to do all things through Your Son, Jesus Christ, who strengthens me. In Jesus’ Name, AMEN.
