Suffering: God’s Power Made Perfect
Suffering: God’s Power Made Perfect
Do you suffer from physical illness or disease that you can’t escape from? Maybe some emotional distress, or mental relapse, or repeated spiritual defeats? No normal person enjoys pain and suffering, no matter what kind it is. How you handle your suffering speaks volumes to those around you of your faith in a sovereign God who allows suffering for your good and for His glory!
If you want to see how another sufferer handled his suffering, look at the Apostle Paul. In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul spoke of visions and revelations he experienced where God was enthroned in the third heaven. In verses 7-9, Paul said, “…in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 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.’” Beloved, suffering brought Paul to his knees. Humbled before Almighty God, he cried out repeatedly for relief until God thundered from His throne, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Did you know that after that, Paul never again mentions his suffering? In fact, Paul embraced God’s will for his life because he realized that it was only through his sufferings that the power of God could flow out from him and into the lives of others. By trusting God’s all-sufficient grace, Paul was able to take God at His word and find peace and contentment in his sufferings, and so can YOU!
Beloved, with great purpose God wants to use your sufferings, so He can work His power through you and mightily into the lives of others. As a suffering servant of Jesus Christ, you are on a mission, not an outing! You are not a tourist; you are a pilgrim! You are called to bear your cross daily, not rarely. Whether you are suffering a heartache or heart attack, pain of grieving, or groaning of pain, whatever the source of your suffering, God’s grace is sufficient to meet all of your needs and, through you, to meet the needs of others! Hallelujah!
This is Laine Wilder for Carry the Light Ministries, bringing you Insights From an Elder.
by Laine Wilder
Author of “Insights From an Elder” for
Carry the Light Ministries
