Bible Text: 2 Corinthians 12 | Preacher: Rev. Dr. Lou Saldiveri | Series: Sunday Morning Worship

— Pastor Lou’s Notes —
Intro: Generally speaking, it is easy to be thankful when life is going well. What about when life doesn’t go real well? Is it a fair statement to say that no one on the face of this earth is exempt from pain and suffering. We will at sometime or another experience both pleasant times and painful times in our lives.

We need to ask this tough question, How do we respond when life deals us something difficult? Do we get angry at God because He didn’t do what we want? Do we stop reading the Word of God, praying, worshiping, and withdraw from the church fellowship? Do we isolate ourselves and try to escape the pain through over working, alcohol or drug abuse, immorality or pornography…etc.?

Is it possible, by God’s grace, to personally experience biblical thankfulness through painful and difficult times?

In Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth, he is defending his integrity and apostleship which was under the fire of critics both inside and outside the church. In the course of this defense, Paul gives us some key insights about dealing with life when life doesn’t go as planned e.g. when pain and suffering come our way.

We Need to Reflect on Our Relationship With God v. 1-7
Reflect on God’s grace
Paul didn’t get paralyzed by his circumstances
Paul didn’t take a “victim” mentality
Paul reflected on the goodness and grace of God
God gave him divine revelations
God choose Paul to preach the gospel of grace to the known world
Paul did not want to be venerated or worshiped
Paul desire was only to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ
We Need to Bring the Matter Before God
Pray and Meditate
Paul looked to God during hard and difficult times
Paul realized that experience difficult times can keep us humble before God and men
The Scripture is not clear on what Paul’s weakness is.
Perhaps a physical or emotional problem
Paul brought the matter to God in prayer
This weakness must ave been painful in some way because he asked God three time to remove it from him
Paul came to realize the overall purpose of why God allowed his pain
Humility
Grace dependence e.g. Holy Spirit dependence
Illus. “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world. C. S. Lewis
We Need to Give Thanks for Our Weakness
Give Genuine Thanks
This “thorn in the flesh” kept Paul from being proud of himself
Paul sees this weakness as a gift from God
This was a result of honest and passionate prayer before God
God will use the problems of life to glorify Himself as we remain obedient by faith and move forward in the power of the Holy Spirit
Apart from God, there is no power in our pain
When we learn that we are weak and need to depend on God and His Word and the Holy Spirit, God is able to let HIs power come through our weakness
We you and I are walking with Jesus in loving obedience through the deep waters of life, we learn through our weakness, we can be strongest.
God is able to work in and through our weaknesses to bring honor and glory to Him
God’s grace enables us to accept our weakness and then enables us to honor God through it.

Closing: So, may I ask you what deep waters are you navigating today! He life given you a bad circumstance that was unexpected and not because of our won wrong doing? Are your ready to reflect on your relationship with God through Christ? Are you willing to bring the matter before God in prayer? Are you willing to continue to be obedient to God through the difficult time so that through our weakness Jesus may be glorified?