'… the Lord is still
for the body. If we offer ours to Him, acknowledging Him as Lord of everything
and claiming His promise by faith, we shall see how the Lord can deliver us
from ourselves. Irrespective of how we physiologically are made, even possessing
special weaknesses, we can overcome our sins through the Lord.' Excerpt- The Spiritual Man by Watchman Nee.
2Co 12:7 And
lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the
revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan
to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
2Co 12:8 For
this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
2Co 12:9 And
he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made
perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my
infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2Co 12:10
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in
persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I
strong.
We know the Lord
truly is the LORD of all of us, mind, body, spirit, all of us. And we also know how much our bodies can
influence our minds and spirit. Clearly
in the passage above, Paul wants his infirmity of the flesh to be taken away
from him. Obviously he is disturbed by this thorn in his flesh enough to pray
about it. This thing, this ailment of his he called- THE MESSENGER OF SATAN TO
BUFFET HIM, he wanted it gone. Most of
us can probably relate to some degree, having experienced physical distresses.
Some of us with chronic ailments- such as this had to be for Paul- comprehend
how awful it is to have to live with constant pain, constant distress. Our various messengers of Satan buffeting us
are things we'd love to be rid of. And as Watchman Nee writes in the excerpt
above- the Lord is for our body too- not just our spirit, He is Lord of all of
us. And yes, the Lord can deliver us from sicknesses and such, but more
importantly He knows when not to deliver us for reasons beyond our full
comprehension.
Paul could say that his ailment was left intact because if he didn't have it he would be exalted above measure, he would think much higher of himself with the danger of pride taking over. Paul ended up GLORYING in his infirmities knowing that the power of Christ was still working in Him. Paul didn't give up on God because his prayers weren't answered and he continued to suffer. He could have given up his walk with Christ, blaming Him for not healing him like he believed he needed. But Paul knew that all he needed was whatever it was Christ deemed He needed. If Christ believed it necessary for Paul to suffer physically, mentally, spiritually- to receive reproaches, to lack necessities, to be persecuted, to be in distress then Paul gloried in all those awful things, he took PLEASURE in all those things, and that pleasure was knowing that He was living wholly for Christ and whatever befell Him was all for Christ's glory. Paul's strength was his relationship with Christ, to him nothing else mattered and he was sorely tested on this over and over again. Why, you may ask? It's the same why we ask when we suffer isn't it, or others we love suffer, or anyone or anything suffers, we ask why, we lament the why and Satan would have us BLAME God for allowing the suffering. Satan would have us cry out, WHY GOD!? WHY?! And Satan wants to use our weak relationship with Christ to insinuate that God isn't truly working out things for our good or the good of others. If Satan can put doubt into our minds about God's truth, about God's love, then Satan's aim has been met, he wants us to doubt, to despair, to give up on God.
More on this tomorrow by the grace and will of our GOD, may we never, no matter what befalls us, leave the love of our Savior! All through HIS amazing LOVE now and forever! All through Jesus Christ our LORD.
Paul could say that his ailment was left intact because if he didn't have it he would be exalted above measure, he would think much higher of himself with the danger of pride taking over. Paul ended up GLORYING in his infirmities knowing that the power of Christ was still working in Him. Paul didn't give up on God because his prayers weren't answered and he continued to suffer. He could have given up his walk with Christ, blaming Him for not healing him like he believed he needed. But Paul knew that all he needed was whatever it was Christ deemed He needed. If Christ believed it necessary for Paul to suffer physically, mentally, spiritually- to receive reproaches, to lack necessities, to be persecuted, to be in distress then Paul gloried in all those awful things, he took PLEASURE in all those things, and that pleasure was knowing that He was living wholly for Christ and whatever befell Him was all for Christ's glory. Paul's strength was his relationship with Christ, to him nothing else mattered and he was sorely tested on this over and over again. Why, you may ask? It's the same why we ask when we suffer isn't it, or others we love suffer, or anyone or anything suffers, we ask why, we lament the why and Satan would have us BLAME God for allowing the suffering. Satan would have us cry out, WHY GOD!? WHY?! And Satan wants to use our weak relationship with Christ to insinuate that God isn't truly working out things for our good or the good of others. If Satan can put doubt into our minds about God's truth, about God's love, then Satan's aim has been met, he wants us to doubt, to despair, to give up on God.
More on this tomorrow by the grace and will of our GOD, may we never, no matter what befalls us, leave the love of our Savior! All through HIS amazing LOVE now and forever! All through Jesus Christ our LORD.
No comments:
Post a Comment