2 Corinthians 12 Devotional

Grace That Is Enough

“But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.”2 Corinthians 12:9 (BSB)

Paul could boast of a remarkable vision. Fourteen years earlier a man in Christ was caught up to paradise and heard things that cannot be told (12:2-4). Instead he speaks of a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan given to keep him from becoming conceited (12:7). He never names it, only says that three times he begged the Lord to remove it (12:8).

The Lord's answer was not removal but a promise. His grace is all Paul needs, and his power is brought to completion in weakness (12:9). He finds that Christ's power rests on him most fully where he is weakest, so he can even delight in hardships for Christ's sake, because his weakness is the very place he is made strong (12:10). That strength then turns toward love. Paul will gladly spend everything for the Corinthians, seeking not their possessions but them (12:14-15). God does not always remove what his people ask him to take. He gives himself, and his grace proves enough.

To think about: What have you asked God to remove that he has not yet taken away, and how might you look for his grace inside it?