A Purpose and a Promise

The in-the-meantime season raises a hard question: what happens when there is no way to fix it, no way out, and no light at the end of the tunnel? The heart often starts thinking, “I’m never going to be happy again,” or “nothing good can come from this,” and then anger starts to rise. Anger may turn toward other people, toward the self, or even toward God, because God could change the circumstance, but he is not changing it.

Paul gives another option from the middle of his own painful season. Paul had been changed by the risen Jesus, and Paul had given his life to telling people that Jesus died, rose again, and made forgiveness possible. Yet Paul also carried a physical ailment that was painful, humiliating, and debilitating. The thorn in his flesh hindered the very work he believed God had called him to do.

Paul did what desperate people do. Paul pleaded with the Lord to take it away. The pleading was not casual prayer. It was begging God out of desperation, likely across more than one season of intense pain. God was silent at first, and then God finally answered with a no. Paul’s faith was not the problem. Paul had extraordinary faith, and still God said no.

God did not remove the thorn, but God gave a promise: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” The thorn became not only painful, humiliating, and debilitating, but also permanent. Paul then had to decide what to do with that no. Paul did not sulk, quit, blame God, or make excuses. Paul said, “Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses,” because Christ’s power could rest on him.

The thorn became a gift, not because it stopped hurting, but because it came with a purpose and a promise. Embracing inability became the prerequisite to experiencing Christ’s ability. Jesus himself cried out before the cross and asked whether there was any other way, and the Father said no. Jesus went through humiliation, torture, and death for the sake of sinners. Ordinary believers can also receive hard circumstances as a gift from God, not a curse or punishment, and lean into the grace that is sufficient to see them through.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God’s no is not faith failure God’s refusal to remove pain does not mean faith was too small. Paul had extraordinary faith, and God still said no, which means unanswered prayer cannot be reduced to spiritual weakness. The heart can cry out honestly without assuming that silence or denial means abandonment. [10:58]
• 2. Grace is sufficient for weakness Grace does not always arrive as changed circumstances. Grace may arrive as the strength to keep standing when the thorn stays in place and becomes permanent. Christ’s power rests on weakness that has stopped pretending and started leaning into him. [12:07]
• 3. The thorn can become gift The thorn was painful, humiliating, and debilitating, but Paul learned to call it a gift because God used it with purpose. A gift from God does not have to feel pleasant to be meaningful. The hard thing may still hurt, but it can become the place where pride is broken and dependence becomes real. [06:20]
• 4. Embracing inability opens Christ’s ability Paul’s weakness had to be received before Christ’s power could rest on him. Embracing inability is not giving up, and it is not pretending pain is fine. It is refusing to hide, excuse, or resent the weakness so that God’s strength can be seen there. [16:34]
• 5. Jesus also heard the Father’s no Jesus asked the Father if there was another way, and the Father said no. The cross shows that God’s no can still carry redemptive purpose, even when it leads through humiliation and suffering. Christ’s obedience gives suffering believers a Savior who understands the ache of unanswered pleading. [19:31]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:32] - Living When Nothing Changes
• [01:09] - Anger in the Waiting Season
• [02:37] - Paul’s In-the-Meantime Moment
• [04:42] - Paul’s Painful Thorn
• [06:20] - A Thorn Called a Gift
• [07:44] - Paul Pleads With God
• [10:58] - Faith Does Not Guarantee Yes
• [12:07] - My Grace Is Sufficient
• [13:37] - Paul Chooses to Boast
• [16:34] - Inability and Christ’s Ability
• [19:31] - Jesus Hears the Father’s No
• [21:00] - Everyday Grace in Weakness
• [22:53] - Cry Out and Receive the Gift
• [24:41] - Closing Prayer

Bible Reading

2 Corinthians 12:7-10
“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” [06:20]

Matthew 26:39
“And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, 'My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.'” [19:31]

Hebrews 4:15
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

Observation questions

1. In 2 Corinthians 12, what words does Paul use to describe his thorn, and what effects did it have on his life and ministry? [04:42]
2. What does Paul actually do with his suffering before he says, “I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses”? What does that show about how serious the pain was? [07:44]
3. After God says no, what promise does God give Paul instead of removing the thorn? [12:07]
4. In Matthew 26:39, what does Jesus ask the Father, and how is that similar to Paul pleading for his thorn to be taken away? [19:31]

Interpretation questions

1. Paul says the thorn was “given” to him and later comes to see it as a gift. How can something painful, humiliating, and debilitating also be spoken of that way? [06:20]
2. God’s no is not faith failure. How does Paul’s example challenge the idea that ongoing pain always means a person just needs more faith? [10:58]
3. God says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” What does that suggest about the kind of strength God most often forms in a believer? [12:07]
4. Paul moves from asking for relief to boasting in weakness so that Christ’s power may rest on him. What seems to change in Paul: his pain, or his perspective? Why does that matter? [13:37]

Application questions

1. What is one “in-the-meantime” place in life right now where the heart is tempted to say, “Nothing good can come from this,” or “I’m never going to be happy again”? [00:42]
2. When life does not change, anger often rises toward other people, toward the self, or toward God. Where does anger tend to go most naturally, and what usually reveals that? [01:10]
3. Paul pleaded with the Lord to take the thorn away. Is there a place in life right now where honest pleading has been held back? What would it look like to cry out to God plainly instead of pretending everything is fine? [23:05]
4. If God’s answer in one area has felt like silence or no, what has that stirred up inside: disappointment, shame, distance from God, numbness, resentment, or something else? [23:32]
5. Embracing inability opens the door to experiencing Christ’s ability. What weakness is hardest to admit openly right now, even before God? [16:34]
6. Receiving a hard thing as a gift does not mean calling evil good or pretending pain does not hurt. What might it look like, very practically, to receive a difficult circumstance as something God will use with purpose and promise? [18:46]
7. Jesus also asked if there was another way, and the Father said no. How does knowing that Jesus understands unanswered pleading change the way suffering is faced this week? [19:31]