Summary: Any study of the life of the apostle Paul requires a serious look at the subject of pain. Suffering is not a pleasant subject to explore, especially in our western culture.

A GRACE THAT WON’T LET GO

2 Corinthians 1-9

Any study of the life of the apostle Paul requires a serious look at the subject of pain. Suffering is not a pleasant subject to explore, especially in our western culture. Perhaps you have heard, as I did growing up, that pain and suffering come from the devil. Since God wants His servants well and free of pain, healing and happiness are of the Lord. That sounds great. The problem is, it is neither true nor biblical. The devil is not always the one responsible for the pain and suffering in our lives. You may be surprised to know that there are times when pain comes as part of God¡¦s sovereign plan to prepare us as useful servants. He knows what is best for us in light of what He is doing in us.

Our theology gets fuzzy here in these United States because of our addiction to the creature comforts. We have a sit back and be served mentality. Let me give you an example; have you ever lost the remote to the TV or cable box? We will tear a room up looking for the remote, instead of just going to the TV set and changing the channel. When is the last time you made popcorn on the stove? Now days we have four different flavors of microwave popcorn in the kitchen.

Romans 8:22-23: For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption to wit, the redemption of our body.

It is not only our fragile body which makes us groan; it is also our fallen nature, which hinders us from behaving as we should. Our groans express both present pain and future longing. In other words, some Christians grin too much and groan too little! They don’t seem to have a place in their theology for pain. Church you know how we are; we are quick to tell someone, you have to smile through you suffering. Church, I believe man has grown weary of the perpetual Christian grin-frankly, so have I. If you frown and allow you countenance to reflect any measure of inner turmoil, people will frown at you judgmentally, as if to suggest you’re not walking in the Spirit. Don’t get me wrong. I find nothing offensive about Christians laughing. Laughter demonstrates authenticity in our lives. I simply believe there is no need to glue a permanent Cheshire grin to our faces, lest we look like we’re not living a victorious Christian life. If someone tells you he¡¦s going through the valleys of life; or going up the rough side of the mountain, I urge you not to insist he smile. Don’t urge them to sing some song that you think they should be singing. Sometimes people just don’t feel like singing or smiling. Matter of fact, there are times it’s hypocritical to paste a smile on your face. Even as a preacher of the gospel there are days when my heart feels so heavy I dread preaching, or writing, or doing anything else related to the work of the ministry. Those are the days I don¡¦t grin. Yet regardless of how I feel, I have to teach the truth-even when that truth is hard to deliver and even harder to receive. So understand, I am not saying this to comfort you. That’s God’s work, ultimately. It is my prayer that I equip for next 96 years of ministry. You may be living with pressures or some debilitating physical disease or emotional pain I couldn’t even begin to imagine; in 16 years of preaching I’ve often seen the evidence of inner turmoil surface on the faces of God’s people. It is in those times, when I feel at a loss to offer encouragement, which is why I am most thankful for the scriptures. In God’s Word we not only discover His will for our lives, we find words of genuine comfort for those times when life comes unglued.

All this brings us back to Paul. A day rarely passed in his Christian life when he didn’t face intense pain, suffering, and/or pressure-almost all of which were related to the harshness of life and the hardships of ministry. Unlike us, Paul doesn’t sugar coat the ups and downs of Christian ministry. He bares his soul and lets the unedited truth flow.

The apostle’s second letter to the Corinthian Christians is like an open window into Paul’s soul. Let’s take a look through this window that Paul has left open for us to see what God is trying tell us through his ministry.

2Corinthians 1:3-4: Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

You know what that means? We go through trials and tribulations so we can comfort others. If you lose your child, God uses you in the life of another mother as she endures the loss of her child. If you’ve struggled through the dark tunnel of divorce, no one understands as you do when a friend tells you his wife just walked out on him. You are able to comfort them with the same comfort with you were comforted by God. If you’ve received a bad x-ray, revealing the presence of a suspicious tumor in your body, you understand intimately the emotions and fears your sister experiences when she receives the same diagnosis. That’s how God works. I’ve never had cancer, therefore I couldn’t off the depth of comfort you could if you had the disease.

Look further in the text, Paul gets even more specific. He writes:

2 Corinthians 1:8: For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life;

The man God used mightily-despaired of life. Do you realize that there was a time when he suffered such a depth of depression that he no longer wanted to live? He wasn’t sure he would make it through. Church, there have been some dark times in your past; some members didn’t know if the church was going to make it. They saw things fall apart and started to throw the towel in and give up.

Still, God not only held Paul together, he is holding the church together too! Listen to what Paul say¡¦s in verse 9: Indeed we ha the sentence of death with ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead. In my despairing of life, says the apostle, learned to trust, and God showed me His remarkable power-the same power He used to raise His Son, Jesus, from the grave. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair, Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus sake that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. 2 Corinthians 4: 8-11

When you leave out the triumph and here’s what he faced: We are afflicted, persecuted, crushed, and struck down. That was Paul’s life in a nut shell. That is what the church has had to go through to get to 96 years of ministry. But he isn’t through. Look at what God is tell you church, But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; 2 Corinthians 6:4-5

And if that isn’t enough church we are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils I the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings of ten, in cold and nakedness.

Paul is telling us he developed his theology of pain in the awful crucible of suffering. He knew first hand what it meant to be misunderstood, mistreated, forsaken, forgotten, abused, maligned, shipwrecked, attacked, starving, imprisoned, and left for dead. Church have you ever felt like that before? Have you ever been in this type of hell? Can you relate to Paul this morning?

What makes this so remarkably, despite all of the suffering, Paul chose not to boast in his remarkable grit, or in his ability to face enormous odds with undaunted courage, or in his physical stamina and emotional stability. He testifies to none of that. Rather, he confesses, If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness 2Corinthians 11:30. Boasting in weakness? Paul couldn’t have been serious! Some Christians might say, that because of all the hell you’ve been through, you are not walking in the spirit. Church this couldn’t be further from the truth. Then answer lies in our text this morning.

(Read the text) Now, what was that thorn? Suggestions abound. Some say it was a series of spiritual temptations. Others point to carnal temptations. Still other suggests relentless opposition and persecution. Physical deformity. Epilepsy. Migraines. Chronic eye trouble. A hunchback. Recurring bouts with malaria and its accompanying throbbing head pain. The truth is, we don’t know.

You read one bible scholar, and he’ll identify the thorn as definitely one thing. Another theologian may say, Couldn’t possibly be that, it’s got to be this. You read another reliable New Testament authority, and he¡¦ll say, ¡§Neither that nor this, but I believe it means this. When you¡¦re all through hearing their opinions and theories, you’re tempted to toss them all out. Because the truth of the matter is, nobody knows for sure. And you know what that means? IT DOESN’T MATTER. The man who endured it (Paul) calls it a messenger of Satan. The enemy hoped to use it to cause the apostle to defect or to retreat from his calling. God used it to keep the gifted servant on his knees.

You see Church; sailors on the high seas understand the importance of securing themselves to something sturdy in a fierce gale (or storm). You learn to cling to what’s secure in a storm. Understand Church; there is an interesting tension here. While Satan punched and pounded the apostle’s resolve, the Lord’s purpose was to humble him, to keep him from exalting himself. Paul rather boast about his weakness, that the power of Christ may dwell in him. Therefore; we should be content with weakness, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions,, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. God didn’t bring you 96 years to boast about it! No, no, he brought you thus far so you would know that his grace is sufficient.

Let me close with three points:

1. We’re never told the nature of Paul’s thorn. Thorns come in all sizes and forms. Some are physical thorns. Some are spiritual thorns. Some of are emotional thorns. What might be a thorn for you wouldn’t be a thorn for me. But one thing is sure. Everybody has thorns. Think about a person who might envy. Maybe they have the car you would like. Maybe they have the job you like. Maybe they can sing beautifully or play. I don’t care what they have or what they can do, they have something else. They have thorns. You might not be able to see it, but they are there.

2. Secondly, we know that Paul prayed three times asking God to remove the thorn. Paul believed the thorn interfered with his ability to serve God. He was serving God, but felt he could do even more if he didn’t have the thorn hindering him. Paul was wrong. The thorn did not keep him from serving God. Some of us use our thorns as excuses for what we don’t do for God. And we’re wrong as well. God didn’t move Paul’s thorn, and He’s not moving your thorns. If you’re waiting for your thorns to be removed in order to serve God, you’ll always have an excuse for not doing the Lord’s work. If you’re going to serve Him, you’ll serve Him with your thorns.

3. The third and final lesson is learning the difference between what we want, vs. what we need. Paul wanted God to remove his thorn. But that is not what Paul needed. What Paul needed was to trust in God’s grace. How often do we pray and ask for what we want. But I’m telling you to pray a new prayer. We need to pray and ask God to give us what we need. What we need and what we want aren’t the same thing.

The penetrating message was caught in a poem written by an unknown confederate soldier, who finally learned the lesson of the thorn.

I asked God for strength that I might achieve.

I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.

I asked God for health that I might do greater things.

I was given infirmity that I might do better things.

I asked for riches that I might be happy.

I was given poverty that I might be wise.

I asked for power that I might have the praise of men.

I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.

I was given life that I might endure all things.

I got nothing I asked for

But everything I had hoped for¡K

Almost despite myself my unspoken prayers were answered.

I am among all men most richly blessed.

Suffering is a delicate subject. It’s not easy to address because I realize I’m preaching to people who have known a depth of suffering to which I have never gone. In no way do I wish to give the impression that I am a model of how to go through it. To be honest with you, I fail in my responses to adversity, more than I succeed. It’s a lot easier to preach on it than it is to model it. My desire for you and me, together, is to claim grace and cultivate grit in the midst of our suffering-like Job, Like Paul. Happiness is a byproduct of contentment. He (God) must increase, but we have to first decrease.