To Encourage You

2 Corinthians 12:7 “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.”

Some things make absolutely no sense!  Anything in your life like that right now? There is in mine!  But then as I thought about this perplexing reality today, I thought about how so much of what the Bible says seems to make no sense as well.  One such place is in the verse above from 2 Corinthians.  Here we’re told about a “thorn in the flesh” that was “given” to the apostle Paul. Many have speculated as to what this might have been. Some say it was his poor eyesight. Others have suggested that it was one or more false teachers that harassed him in his work in the early church.  The fact is, however, that no one really knows except for what the verse tells us, i.e., that it was “a messenger of Satan to harass” him. But by whom was this “messenger” given to him?  Was it really just Satan, or was someone else involved?

Well, in the verses that followed we are told that Paul prayed to God to take it away. The reply he received from the Lord was “No, my grace is sufficient for you!”  In other words, this messenger from Satan was under the complete control and authority of God, and it was God Himself that allowed Paul to be targeted in such a bewildering way.

There are other similar passages in the Bible.  The book of Job is one such place. Here we are told about how Satan actually had a conversation with God about Job, a conversation in which God gives Satan authorization to afflict Job in many terrible ways. God allows Satan to take Job’s children, possessions, and health. Does that make any sense to you?  Then there is the case of Saul, the first king of Israel.  We are told that because of Saul’s rebellion, God took His Holy Spirit from him and gave him what is called “an evil spirit from the Lord” to torment him (1 Samuel 16:14). An evil spirit “from the Lord,” mind you. Does that make any sense?!  Then there is the case of Peter in Luke 22, where Jesus tells him, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.” And the Lord allows Satan to do just that!  That makes no sense to me. Does it to you?  Another example is Judas Iscariot, one whom the Lord had said it would have been better if he had not been born (Matthew 26:24). Yet he was born, with his birth completely under God’s control.  Furthermore, Judas’ treacherous betrayal was prophesied by God hundreds of years before it happened (Psalm 41:9).  We are told that Satan actually entered Judas to facilitate his wickedness. 

Though difficult to understand, in each and every case mentioned, it is noteworthy that the circumstances these men faced worked to test their character.  Obviously, these were not tests that were necessary for God to know their character, for He knows us much better than we know ourselves.  These were all tests to reveal the character of the ones tested both to themselves and to others who knew them.  As Satan was allowed by God to afflict these men, their relationship to God made all the difference in the world as to their reaction. Peter, Paul, and Job were each humbled by these tests – and humility is a good thing, very good.  Also, in the end, each one of these three men drew nearer to God as a result of the test. Each one grew in his faith and each one became more and more (knowingly) dependent on the Lord. In the cases of Saul and Judas, however, the test just revealed their wickedness more glaringly.  Saul became jealous and even murderous towards his rival David. In the end he consorted with a witch rather than God, and died at his own hand. Judas, likewise, rather than turn toward God and repent, hastened his own destruction by suicide. 

So again, is there anything in your life that makes absolutely no sense? Is there any fire you are passing through that is exposing things about yourself – uncomfortable things – that you or others around you would otherwise not know?  Are you being humbled by something?  Are you being driven to hell and back, as it were, by some circumstance? If so, what is your reaction to it all? Are you becoming bitter, terrified, or angry? Are you turning your back on God?  Or are you being humbled in your perplexity, and leaning more and more on God because you know full well that there is no other place to go?

You see, the Lord has warned us that not everything in life will make sense.  As Job wrestled with this reality in his own life and sought to question God, it is interesting to see how God responded in Job 38-41. This is one of my favorite passages in all the Bible.  God’s answer, in a nutshell, is this: “Job, you don’t understand most things.  But I do, and you can trust Me because of that!”  And God has told each of us as much with these words: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). 

So, be assured that because many of the circumstances in life make no sense to you and me, it does not mean that they make no sense to God.  As we face such tests in life, the question we are each faced with is “what path will I take?”  Will we acknowledge our God and trust Him (since He really is our God), or will we turn from Him to our own often futile and deleterious ways?  The overwhelming tests will come. They will reveal who we are.  They will humble us and drive us to our God – or they will do just the opposite – although the opposite makes the least sense of all.