September 8, 2022

 

Blindness

 

Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 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. – 2 Corinthians 12:7b-9

 

What was Paul’s thorn? Many have debated it. Some have concluded Paul’s thorn was his vision. They determined this because Paul was struck blind on the road to Damascus. He was blind for three days. His sight was restored but did he have lingering issues? We don’t know. The Bible doesn’t tell us.

 

No matter what, Paul continued to boast in the goodness of God. He preached the gospel despite much hardship and condemnation. His faith never wavered.

 

As my own eyesight deteriorates, I wonder if I will be able to continue with such a deep, unwavering faith. It’s easy to cling to faith that remains unchallenged but it is in our darkest moments that we truly learn how deep our roots have grown.

 

I turn the pages of my worn, large-print Bible and I see marks again and again from a time some years ago. Loneliness and fear had gripped me and I cried out to the only One who truly understood my pain. His faithfulness sustained me and He blessed me in ways I never imagined. He is, and will always be, the God who stayed and brought light to the darkness. I cling to that now.

 

None of us can predict the future. We make plans but we have no way of knowing exactly what awaits us in the hours and days that lay before us. And, yet, Paul gives us an example of what it means to boast in the Lord even as we suffer in the flesh. Because He is so good and so faithful.

 

I don’t know what thorn you’re facing today. I don’t know whether it’s a physical ailment, an emotional heartbreak, financial stresses or any number of other things. Life is hard sometimes. But remember who you belong to. Remember that He is faithful. Remember that God will sustain you always and forever.

May 12, 2016

Life Events Change Us.

3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” -- Acts 9:3-6

Paul was never the same. He had persecuted Christians. He had held the coat of Stephen, the faith’s first martyr. He was looking for Christians he could take as prisoners.

Then Jesus met him on that road and Paul was never the same. He would live the rest of his life serving Jesus and preaching the gospel at great cost to himself.

Of course, we are not Paul and while I sure hope we’ve all met Jesus I doubt we’ll spend years in chains for Him. But we are changed by His Presence. Or we should be.

Just as we are changed by life events, some good and some bad. Scars, especially, mark us. We are forever different. Life becomes before and after.

Infidelity rocks a marriage and the people involved are forever different. One woman, who through counseling was able to forgive her husband and continue the marriage, admitted that it would never be the same. Trust is a precious thing. Once broken it never really returns.

Then there’s illness. There was life before cancer and then there is life after cancer. Things once taken for granted are now cherished. Days are seized with vigor because the fragility of life has become evident in a way that can never be changed.

Sometimes it is a job loss. There is the time before the lay offs hit and there is the time after. The longer the unemployment, the deeper the scars. We are taught that if you’re willing to work hard, you can always find a job. Learning that it isn’t true can be devastating.

Sometimes geography splits our lives. Sometimes it is family dynamics. I doubt anyone goes completely through life without some event derailing our plans and causing us to question who we are and what is really important.

That’s what happened on that road to Damascus. Paul met Jesus and he was never the same. We are all better for it. Paul wrote most of the New Testament. In his suffering, he still preached. He still taught. He still lived a life full of praise for his Lord and Savior.

We could learn from that. Life happens, sometimes leaving deep scars. But we can still live a life full of praise for Jesus because of all He has done for us.