The format I use for Bible studies comes from one of the study Bibles I have. That Bible has worksheets in it for you to study scripture using the H.E.A.R format. That is Highlight-Explain-Apply-Respond. Highlight is the verse to study. Explain & Apply are pretty self explanatory. Respond is respond to the study with prayer.
I tweaked that a bit & turned it into H.E.A.R.T. Highlight-Explain-Apply-Respond-Takeaway. My format added a segment at the end to drive home the lessons learned that God wants readers to Takeaway from that scripture. Here is the HEART of 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.
H.E.A.R.T. Bible Study Format
Highlight – The passage you will be covering in this study
“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (CSB)
EXPLAIN – Explain what this passage says
Before we get into this scripture lets take a look at what Paul went through before he wrote these verses. In the beginning of chapter 12 he writes about his experience going to heaven. He shows humility in these passages by referring to himself in the third person. 2 Corinthians 12:2 says, “I know a man in Christ who was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago.” Who can tell me what the 3rd Heaven is? The 1st Heaven is the atmosphere around us. The 2nd Heaven is outer space & objects orbiting out there. The 3rd Heaven is the dwelling place of our Heavenly Father.
In verse 7 he tells us about a thorn that was brought to him by Satan to keep him from boasting. He writes, “so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so that I would not exalt myself.” If anyone had a legitimate reason to brag it was Paul. Look at all the Lord had brought him through. God definitely favored him. Paul had survived experiences that would have killed most. He'd been greatly persecuted. Not only that but he had actually been in the third Heaven, God's dwelling place. How many people could claim that?
He then tells us about the thorn in his side. A thorn is something nags or irritates the human nature. God chooses His words meaningfully. The Bible is not specific about what this irritating thorn is. It could be something painful like a thorn from a bush, something spiritual like unconfessed sin, something to do with a trouble in the family, or many other things. The ambiguity of this irritation allows readers to apply this verse to mean many different things. We can apply it to whatever is irritating our soul. He tells us that Satan was the one responsible for bringing this thorn to him. God allowed that to happen because he had a good purpose behind it. The thorn was to keep Paul from exalting himself in spite of the astonishing things he had been through.
Paul asked the Lord three times to take this bothersome thorn from his side so he would be without that pain. (12:8) After making this plea the Lord replies, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” The New Living Translation reads, “My grace is all you need.” The Lord is telling Paul that when hard times hit His grace is all we will need. God will use our weakness for His purpose. One commentary tells us, “God does not take away our troubles and temptations, yet, if he gives grace enough for us, we have no reason to complain... His strength is made perfect in our weakness... We are strong in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; when we feel that we are weak in ourselves, then we go to Christ, receive strength from him, and enjoy divine strength and grace.” That's the greatest strength of all.
Now let's define the word “grace”. What is God's grace?
In the New Testament the word for grace is the Greek word “charis”. Holman Bible dictionary tells us charis is “undeserved favor given by a superior to an inferior. This undeserved favor given by God to man forms the background of the Christian meaning of grace.” Grace is God giving us a blessing we don't deserve. What's the greatest example of God's grace? Eternal salvation! None of us really deserve that.
Paul had received God's grace many times. Grace was something Paul wrote about often. It is a core element to all believers of Christ. He realized the grace of God was necessary because man was totally unable to save himself. In Ephesians Paul writes, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) There's no way we can earn the graces of God through our works. God gives them to us. Paul also remembered he was once a great persecutor of Christians & totally unworthy of salvation. But God showed grace by calling him to a new life.
In verse 9 the Lord told Paul to not worry about the thorn because His grace was enough to get him through this time of suffering. Although the Lord was speaking to Paul thousands of years ago it is equally true for you & me today. We all go through times when we have some sort of thorn in our side. Like Paul in this scripture the grace of God will be with us through it all.
2 Corinthians 12:9 goes on to say that God's power is perfected in weaknesses. Why does God put weaknesses in our lives? Why would a God of great love make us weak? What's His purpose in these weaknesses?
Pastor Tony Evans tells us “If not for the weaknesses that God allows us to endure, we would lack opportunities to seek his sufficient grace and experience his perfect power." One benefit of being weak is that it makes us depend more on God for our effectiveness rather than on our own energy, effort, or talent. When we see how He responds we realize God's grace is all we need. The grace of God is sufficient for any problem we encounter & the weaknesses that appear are opportunities for God to show His power, love, & might to others. As this verse says God's power is perfected in weaknesses.
Next Paul says he takes pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties. Paul was very familiar with hardships. He had been imprisoned, flogged, stoned, shipwrecked, & left for dead. Paul endured all of that but then he writes 5 words that tell us why. Why did he go through those hardships? He endured so much “...for the sake of Christ.” He was willing to go through those things for the sake of our Savior; so that the message of Christ would reach the souls of the lost so they could give their life to the Lord. It was worth the hardships he went through.
Jesus Himself told us things like that will come when we follow Him. We ask ourselves if we would be willing to go through this as well. Would we go through hardships like this for the sake of Christ? That could be a hard question to truthfully answer.
Now let's make this example even more personal. My life changed greatly on June 4th, 2006. That day I survived the car wreck that could have ended my life. Before I was blessed with this traumatic brain injury serving the Lord was in no way on the agenda for my life. Not even on the radar. I call it a blessing because this injury turned my life in the direction of God & I now live to serve Him. I give the Lord credit for all these things. In 2012 I heard the Holy Spirit tell me to send prayers to my email contacts. That was the birth of Knee-Mail Ministry which now sends daily prayers out around the world. Today's Prayer goes to the nations of America, Australia, Philippines, Ukraine, Bolivia, South Africa, & Saudi Arabia. Those are just the countries I know they are going to. Because Today’s Prayer is on the internet only God knows all of the people who are reading them. God's Word is going to those places through the prayers Knee-Mail Ministry sends. This ministry is a tool the Lord is using to send His Word to many nations. https://www.facebook.com/groups/631714556951629/
I haven't been through as many hardships as Paul but in a way this injury was not unlike some of the things He endured. I was in hospitals & rehab from June 2006-August 2008. I mention those things because I can honestly and wholeheartedly say I would be willing to do them again for the sake of Christ; for His message to be carried to more souls. I hope & pray no one here ever has to go through things like that but the question is would you endure this amount hardships for the sake of Christ? Something to think about.
Now Paul writes something that is counterintuitive. It doesn't make sense. He tells us “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” What is he saying here? How are we stronger when there's weakness?
The Bible Knowledge Commentary says, "God's grace transformed Paul's experiences in his ministry he would naturally abhor, he could welcome supernaturally because the evidence of Christ's power in the midst of them brought glory to Him, not to Paul. When Paul came to the end of himself Christ alone was seen. When he was weak, Christ, by His strength, could make Paul spiritually strong."
Paul had reached the extent of his strength. Because of all he'd gone through he was weak. Paul had emptied himself of his own strength & power. With himself emptied Jesus was able to fill him with His strength. When he had done all he could naturally do Christ gave him the ability to carry on in a strength that could only be recognized as supernatural. This made him a powerful witness to the grace of God. Those who were watching Paul would see the unlimited power God can give to those who have faith to believe in Him. God desires to draw all to Himself so they will recognize their need to turn from their wicked ways & be saved. By witnessing Paul endure hardships & weaknesses we see the grace of God & recognize our need. Times when we are weak God gives us spiritual strength to carry out His will. Isn't that the greatest strength of all?
I can't tell you how many times I've felt like I could not do something because of the injury the Lord allowed to happen to me. In times when I felt like there was no way I'd be able to do it I relied on the Lord to help. He always did. When I was weak I had the strength & ability to show the world what God can & will do through me. It was all by His power & grace; not my own.
What are some ways we can be strong & glorify the Lord when we are feeble & weak?
APPLY – How does this passage apply to life today?
In the world today we want to feel like we are able to do anything in our own power. We can overcome obstacles & do things better than anyone else. Self-sufficiency in & of itself is not necessarily a bad thing. A danger we need to be aware of is that self-sufficiency can lead to pride & boasting on ourselves, our powers, & our abilities. The Life Application Study Bible tells us “When we are strong in abilities or resources, we are tempted to do God's work on our own, & that can lead to pride. When we are weak, allowing God to fill us with His power, then we are stronger than we could ever be on our own.”
God did not create man to be weak & ineffective in the missions given to them. When we find ourselves weak we are to rely solely on the power of God to accomplish what He's given us to do. We've all been through tough times. When we go through hard times two things that could happen; we'll become bitter or better. If we rely on our own strength to overcome the obstacle many times we will fail & become bitter at whatever or whoever caused this to happen. Or if we rely on the Lord & let Him show His strength & power through us things will improve & we get better. We become a better follower of Christ & God will get the glory. Do you want to be bitter or better? God is with us in whatever we're going through. We live in a world where pain, struggle, & tragedy are a part of the lives of every believer.
When things don't happen according to how we want them to happen we feel weak & defeated. We are empty of our own strengths. When this happens we should fill that void with the goodness, power, & love of God. Doing this will give Him the glory & through Him we will be made strong regardless of what happened. We turn our attention away from the circumstances of the situation & to the grace of the Lord. When we are following the will of God Satan will do all he can to stop us. But we continue on that path for the sake of Christ in spite of what the devil does. Tony Evans wrote about relying on the Lord in times like this. He said, “The Lord calls on you to look to Him when your thorn—whatever it is—pricks you. For even if He doesn’t take it away, He has grace and power to accomplish in your life only what is possible in the midst of your profound weakness. By God’s grace, take pleasure in your weaknesses so that His power can be revealed. Then you will be able to say along with the apostle Paul, 'When I am weak, then I am strong.'”
Sometimes we may be too weak to do anything but crawl but that is when His strength and power are at their peak. Stay low, but don't just stay there doing nothing. God will give us the strength & perseverance we need to keep moving. Keep crawling because at some point He will make you stand before your enemy in victory. Victory is ahead. The enemy may know where you are but so does Christ & He will prevail & bring you with Him. Jesus does not leave His own people behind. When we are on the path of God He is walking beside us & will give us what we need when we need it. As the prophet Isaiah wrote, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
When God has the opportunity to display His great powers through our weaknesses victory will happen! “For when I am weak then I am strong!”
RESPOND – Respond in prayer
Father, You are kind and good. It is impossible for anyone to deserve what Jesus has done. Your grace is free, undeserved, and unconditional. There is nothing I can ever do to repay You for all You’ve done and all You continue to do in my life. I've been through times that seemed like I could not go on, but by your powers I did.
I am called to serve You Heavenly Father, and in humble response I thank you and offer myself to You. With Your Spirit’s help, may I live this day for Your glory. Amen.
TAKE-AWAYS – What do you get from this study?
Regardless of what we're going through the Lord will be there to help us
Our weaknesses are opportunities for God to reveal Himself to the world through us
God's grace is an undeserved gift to man
We can look at hard times as a privilege because they give us the opportunity to be an example of the Lord's powers to others
What are other take-aways from this study?
