Do You Have What It Takes?
Submitted by Steve Clark
April 17, 2025
2 Corinthians 12:1-10
The world has a message of “self-sufficiency,” and it is very misleading.
Mature Christians wake up every day, and they know that they don’t have what it takes to be successful in their Christian lives! They know that they can’t be or do all that God has for them that day, or the rest of their lives, without the grace of God.
Here’s a fact: There is nothing that reveals our need for God’s grace like a trial! One of the very reasons God allows difficult times and even failures to come into our lives is because He wants us to learn the adequacy of His grace.
Our passage should encourage us with God’s sufficiency. Paul describes this “thorn in the flesh,” and God’s promise to him is simply that His grace is sufficient. The first of many things that we need to see from this passage is—God Directs Our Spiritual Growth.
Paul had much that he could brag about, if he wanted to. Look at verses 1-5. He received direct revelation from God, and he saw the third heaven! And yet, even having seen the third heaven, God allowed Paul to also have a continual reminder of his need for God in the form of a “thorn in the flesh.”
It is remarkable that Paul recognized that this “thorn,” whatever it was, was not without a purpose. For Paul, the specific purpose was to keep him from his pride, and it was a daily reminder of his need for God’s grace.
On our good days, we tend to be more self-sufficient, and we forget our need for God’s grace. When we are proud, when we are being self-sufficient, we resist the very grace we need! But when we come to God in humility, He gives us His grace!
Now let’s look at someone else, and that Person is Jesus. Jesus had every right to have honor, and praise, and worship. Yet to be our Saviour, He laid all of His privileges aside and became a lowly servant.
We often hear people talk of living as Jesus lived, and while He truly is the model for us to follow, many who talk about following Him are unwilling to give up their rights and reflect His humility.
Here’s a fact—We will never be like Jesus unless we are humble and lowly. James 4:6 “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”
Mature Christians know that they don’t have what it takes.
Consider—A sweet fruit is often surrounded by a bitter peeling.
