“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. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2Corinthians 12:8-10

This is a famous passage from Paul’s personal experiences. It is often quoted as consolation when God doesn’t answer our prayers. We say something like, “I’m sorry God didn’t answer your prayer. But look, God didn’t answer Paul’s prayers for healing or deliverance. Instead, he told Paul that his grace was enough.” Grace is treated like God’s second-best when don’t get what we asked for.

However, I would like to offer a different perspective.

In 2Corinthians 12:1-6, Paul alludes to receiving amazing revelations and hearing secret things from God fourteen years prior. Then in verse 7, he states that in order to not become conceited for receiving these visions, he was given a “thorn in the flesh, a messenger from Satan.” Paul is ambiguous about this “thorn,” but it was bad enough for him to call it a “messenger [or angel] from Satan.” This is not a mere annoyance, but something evil.

Paul then prayed three times to have this “thorn” removed. And then God spoke to him. Let’s pause. Don’t let that fact pass by too quickly. God spoke directly to Paul. It was similar to the secret revelations he received. While he couldn’t share those revelations, he could share the following.

God tells Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” God’s word to Paul is not a door-prize. It’s not God’s second-best in response to Paul’s prayers. In fact, I don’t think it was even a “No” to Paul’s prayers. Rather, it was an amazing upgrade!

Here’s how I understand this conversation:

Paul: “God, please take away this painful messenger of Satan.”

God: “I will do something unfathomably better! I’m going to overflow you with my grace so that my unlimited power will be completely perfected and fulfilled in your life through this weakness. And you will learn how to live immersed in as well as be an instrument of that perfected power.”

God’s grace is an incredible upgrade not a downgrade. It’s the crown not a consolation-prize.

I don’t think Paul was disappointed with God’s upgrade. He was elated! He could have had this weakness removed. Instead, God gave him something far better! By embracing and interacting with God’s overflowing grace in this weakness, Paul would gain a deep and dynamic understanding and experience of God’s boundless power that would transform his life and ministry.

No wonder Paul exclaims in verses 9-10, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Those are not the words from a disappointed man or from someone who was told “No.”

You see, God wasn’t saying, “I’m sorry I can’t heal you, Paul. But the grace I’m going to give you will be enough to help you endure this affliction.” Instead, this experience of God’s grace and power over fourteen years is what allowed Paul to write in Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

Paul’s experience of God’s unexpected upgrade to abundant grace and perfected power was immeasurably more than he could have asked or imagined. But, God did it! And God allowed Paul to share that experience as encouragement and hope to Jesus’ apprentices in Corinth.

We’ll look at that next time.