Helps For Daily Life 2
BIBLE STUDY 2: HELPS FOR DAILY LIFE
A SERIES: THERE IS HOPE
LESSON 2: 2nd Corinthians 12:1-20 How to Pray When You Hurt
2nd CORINTHIANS 12:1-20
1. “ It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2. I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. 3. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) 4. How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. 5. Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. 6. For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. 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. 8. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 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. 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. 11. I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing. 12. Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds. 13. For what is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches, except it be that I myself was not burdensome to you? forgive me this wrong. 14. Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. 15. And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved. 16. But be it so, I did not burden you: nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile. 17. Did I make a gain of you by any of them whom I sent unto you? 18. I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? walked we not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps? 19. Again, think ye that we excuse ourselves unto you? we speak before God in Christ: but we do all things, dearly beloved, for your edifying. 20. For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults:”
INTRODUCTION
These verses deal with the problems of pain, suffering, sorrow, heartache, and sickness which all of us will experience to some degree in life if this life on earth affords us enough years. Does that not sound like a real nice uplifting way to begin a Bible Study? I do not know how you feel about this subject, but as for me, I DO NOT MIND PAIN, SUFFERING AND ALL OF THAT! I JUST DO NOT BEING AROUND WHEN IT HAPPENS! Seriously, would it not be wonderful to have a life where there was no sickness, suffering, or pain, and no sorrow or heartache in life? Well friends, that is just dreaming and in all reality, it ‘AINT’ going to happen until we are forever with the Lord Jesus.
Nevertheless, today when we look around us at so many other people we should just Praise God for the strength and health He has given us. Seeing what some others go through should make so thankful that we want to use the strength we have to serve our blessed Lord even more.
If there was ever a man who hurt and suffered it was the great apostle Paul. In these verses, we have a glimpse into his prayer life. We also see what was going on in his heart and how he endured something in his life for a long, long time.
INTERPRETATION
I know we have just looked at one long portion of scripture in the beginning, but I feel that it would be an advantage for us to back up to Chapter 11 in order to get the background just a little better for this passage we are going to be studying. Again, speaking of the sufferings of this man named Paul; let us look at verses 24 through 33.
Paul says, "Of the Jews five times I have received forty stripes save one.” [A beating like this would often kill a person, five times. Paul had been stretched out and beaten within an inch of his life on five different occasions.] "Thrice was I beaten with rods," [That was another kind of beating.] "Once I was stoned." [When they stoned Paul they left him for dead, but he was not dead.] "Thrice I suffered shipwreck," [That means, he had been in the terrible, horrible storms,] "A night and a day had I been in the deep," [That means, his body had floated around in the Mediterranean and been pickled by that salt water.] "In journeyings often in perils of waters,” [Many times he was almost drowned.] "In perils of robbers,” [That tells that he was bushwhacked by wayside men who would pounce upon him.] "In perils of mine own countrymen," [Many times his own Jewish people thought of him as a turncoat and as a traitor.] "In perils by the heathen," [He would go to preach the gospel and they would arrest him and put him in jail.] "In perils in the city," [He was not safe in the city. If he would go out into the wilderness he would be,] "in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren." [I suppose this was the cruelest cut of all—those who pretended to be brothers in Christ turned against him.] "In weariness and painfulness, in watching’s often, in hunger and thirst, in feastings often, in cold and nakedness, besides those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches." [The great burden that he had of the ministry and the great sympathetic heart he had caused him not only to suffer himself, but he suffered for others.]
He says, "Who is weak and I'm not weak, who is offended and I've learned not? If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern my infirmities, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which is blessed forever knoweth that I lie not. In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison desirous to apprehend me, and through a window in a basket I was let down by a wall and escaped his hands."
I find it very difficult to imagine and yet I know it is true and I have thought about it many times. There is the great apostle Paul – a ruler, a leader, a philosopher, a scholar, a member of the Sanhedrin – the highest religious and civil group in Israel – being let down over the wall in a basket to save his life. Can you think of anything any more humiliating?
Something that is interesting to me is that the 11th chapter ends with Paul being let down and the 12th chapter begins with Paul being caught up. His being let down in the basket was very humiliating to the flesh but his being caught up in the heavens was very exhilarating to the spirit.
Now, Paul has been talking about burdens, problems, suffering and hurting. However, after he has mentioned all of the other hurts that he has had and all of these other things he has gone through, he mentions the secret hurt that he has had that nobody else has known about until he tells us about it right now. It is sort of like a problem that has been on his heart and he has carried around secretly for fourteen years. I do not mean to say that the problem was a secret – it was a thorn in the flesh – that was obvious, but the background of the problem WAS a secret and nobody knew the background but Paul. Now, I am sure if what happened to him had happened to most of us if we would have told someone about it tomorrow or not, but he did not tell anyone about it for 14 years. If it had happened to me, I would have probably first gone and told God, then I would have told my wife. If it had happened to some of us, today we would probably have written a book about it and it would be getting to what we call “The Best Seller’s List.” Nevertheless, Paul just kept it in his heart and in his mind for fourteen years.
There was a day when God found Paul in his distress, but God found him faithful and had given him a vision, God had taken him and lifted him up to the third heaven. Paul saw such visions, marvels, and mysteries that they were actually unlawful for him to tell anyone about them. God had lifted him so high that he was in danger. The danger was that he might be exalted above measure, that he might become proud about it.
Now, I do not believe he did become proud because God stopped it before it got started, and God ministered to him by giving him a thorn in the flesh. Look again in 2nd Corinthians 12:7 because he says, "Unless I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of revelation there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger Satan to buffet me lest I should be exalted above measure." Now, God was happy to bless Paul but God knew there had to be a balance between the blessing and a burden. God was doing that for Paul’s benefit because it was very likely that Paul would become overbalanced and then he would have fallen, because as humans, the higher we rise the further we may fall. Anyone who has been blessed by God materially, physically, or spiritually may understand and should understand that our loving God may counterbalance that blessing with a burden for your good and for his benefit.
EXPLANATION
NOW, PAUL HAD A BURDEN AND IT WAS SEVERE. He says, “There was given to me a thorn in the flesh,” but do not get the idea of a thorn like a thorn on a rose. No, actually, the word for “thorn” here is a “stake.” It was something upon which had pierced him. It was something that was vicious and huge thrust into him. It was something that had run him through. Now actually, there was not anything literally impaling his body, but he is using this as a figure of speech for something that is severe.
PAUL HAD A BURDEN AND IT WAS STEADFAST. It was not like some pain he had known before, for a day or a week or a month or even a year. For fourteen years, he had this stake impaled in his side. For fourteen years, he had known this terrible, horrible suffering and the Bible says that it was a gift from God. We do not know what it was that caused Paul's suffering and I think that it is in the providence of God that we do not know, but we do know that it hurt badly.
I have never met a man or woman I felt was as Godly as the Apostle Paul, therefore, if there is anyone who may feel they have a thorn in their flesh it is not for the exact same reason Paul experienced if. Nevertheless, there are thorns in the flesh of a different degree and nature that are very real today and the hurt they inflict is very real for several reasons.
SOMETIMES WE ARE INFLICTED WITH HURT BECAUSE OF SINNING. We know that sin causes suffering. There are many people in our world suffering because of their own sin. The bitter fruit that they are eating is the fruit of their own ways from trees of sin that they have planted. The bitter water that they are drinking is from wells that they themselves have dug. Suffering follows sin like night follows day and that might be the reason that some are suffering, but that is not the only reason for suffering.
SOMETIMES WE ARE INFLICTED WITH HURT BECAUSE OF STRENGTHENING. That hurt or suffering in your life may be God's means of strengthening you and it is just a discipline. Now, football players suffer and if you have ever been to and watched a football practice, you know it hurts. They get out there and they are sweating and the equipment does not seem to fit just right and the coach seems to have absolutely no mercy and they are doing wind sprints, and their ribcage is hurting, and their head is pounding, and their knees are trembling, and their mouth feels like its all cotton inside, and they hurt! However, those players know that the purpose for their being disciplined and strengthened is so they might perform well against their opponent. Many times God allows his people endure a season of hurt in order to discipline and strengthen them. It has nothing to do with sin or any kind of punishment, but it is just that we are becoming spiritually tough, strong, and ready for a battle ahead of us. The moment our tough opponent comes against us and we find ourselves faced with temptation we realized that we are in the right condition to stand up to the tempter and strong enough to win the battle.
SOMETIMES WE MAY BE HURT BECAUSE IT WILL KEEP US FROM SINNING. Paul was hurting in order to keep him from sinning, “lest he should be exalted above measure,” or lest he should become overtaken with pride. Sometimes, if we are abundantly blessed, we have a tendency to get puffed up with pride. When we get proud of ourselves, we can easily get overly self-confident, give ourselves all of the credit, and pat ourselves on the back. When that happens, God may see the need to put some type of hurt in our life to keep us humble and keep us from sinning. It may not always be a big thing, but it may be a big thing. God always knows how to gage the size thorn we need to go along with the way we handle our blessing, if a thorn is necessary.
APPLICATION
Now that you have gotten the background, how do you pray when you hurt?
We are going to learn from the apostle Paul and from his prayer life that there are three possible responses, three possible ways that you might pray when you are hurting.
I. WHEN YOU ARE HURTING, YOU MAY PRAY TO ESCAPE SUFFERING.
You might pray to escape that pain, you might pray to get rid of that thorn in your flesh, and there is nothing wrong with that! Usually that is the very first thought that comes to our minds when we hurt. There is nothing wrong there! I know when I hurt, my first thought is, “Let's do something about this and the sooner the better!” That is normal that is natural. That is how Doctor’s and drugstores stay in business. When we hurt, we want to do something about it and the sooner the better, so we go either to the Doctor or to the drugstore or both.
(Q) What do you do when you are hurting?
(Q) Do you think there is any better way of dealing with hurting than trying to escape it?
(Q) Do you ever ask God to take the hurt away?
(Q) What do you think it means when God does not take the hurt away?
(On the other hand, maybe the hurt gets worse.)
It is a God-given instinct of self-preservation and so we may pray, “Lord, take it away, do it by man, do it by medicine, do it by miracle, but God, get rid of it and the sooner the better.” Paul, being human, asked the Lord to do this. He had a thorn in the flesh; he had that thorn for fourteen years. He went to the Lord 3 times and he said, “Lord, please take it away.” In verse 8 he said, "For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me." In other words, “Lord, I don't want it, take it away please.” It was still there. One more time he prayed, “Lord won’t you please take this thorn away?” Yet the thorn was still there. Paul prayed yet a third time and God finally gave him an answer. However, the answer he received was not the one for which he was looking or hoping. This scripture is a good illustration at this point, which says, "We know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” This text reveals to us also that we ought to pray until God does show us what His will and His plan is in a particular situation in our life.
There was nothing wrong with Paul asking God to take the thorn away from his life. In fact, he is in good company. If you let your mind go back to the Garden of Gethsemane, you will recall Jesus praying three times that he might not have to endure that bitter cup. He prayed, “Father, if it be possible, take this cup from Me.” – one time, (No Answer) – two times, (No Answer) – three times our Lord prayed that same kind of prayer – (No Answer). However, with his (No Answer) He had His answer!
What I am trying to say is there is nothing wrong with praying and saying, “Lord, I want to escape this suffering” But you need to remember that the Lord may have a better plan and a higher plan. So the first thing you ought to do when you hurt is say, “Lord, take it away, please,” and if he doesn't , ask him again and continue to ask him until he reveals to you that he has a better or a higher plan. If God does not answer, if He does not take the suffering away, you have your answer, – He has a better and higher plan!
I. WHEN YOU ARE HURTING, YOU MAY PRAY TO ESCAPE SUFFERING.
II. WHEN YOU ARE HURTING YOU MAY PRAY TO ENDURE SUFFERING.
As a Jew, Paul may have prayed to escape suffering because God had given certain physical promises to his Old Testament people, the Jews. God said, “I will heal all thy diseases and I'll put none of these diseases upon you that are upon the Egyptians…” and so forth. The Jews were physical, earthly people and God had certain promises to them for that particular age, for that particular time that he calls their infancy where he dealt with them on a little different basis.
Then he was also a Roman citizen so he may have prayed to endure suffering. The Romans were rough and tough, and known for their bravery and endurance. There is nothing wrong with enduring suffering. If we cannot escape suffering, we must endure it. Nevertheless, sometimes we can become proud, even in the enduring of our suffering, if that is all we do.
(Q) Maybe you do not feel very strong right now and you are suffering in some way – your hurt is deep whether it is physical, emotional, or spiritual – how are you going to go about enduring that each day?
(Q) Do you feel you just cannot endure it or you cannot endure it any longer?
(Q) What do you think the positive and correct answer is to your dilemma?
I think it was Kipling, who wrote the words, “If you can keep your head when all of those 'round about you are losing theirs...” and he goes on in this long poem and then he ends by saying, “If you can do that, my son, then you are a man.”
There was a young preacher who was preaching in an inner-city mission and in the midst of his message he quoted Kipling to those fellows and he said, “If you can keep your head…” and he went on and “if you can do this,” and “if you can do that,”….“then, my son, you are a man.”
As soon as he got those word out of his mouth half drunk man in the audience stood up and said, “Yeah, but what if you can't? And there are a lot of people who can't, we just don't have what it takes to endure suffering.”
***WELL HERE IS THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION***
I. WHEN YOU ARE HURTING, YOU MAY PRAY TO ESCAPE SUFFERING.
II. WHEN YOU ARE HURTING YOU MAY PRAY TO ENDURE SUFFERING.
or
III. WHEN YOU ARE HURTING YOU MAY PRAY TO ENLIST SUFFERING.
Here is what I mean by that!
Do not pray to escape our suffering, do not pray to endure our suffering, but pray to enlist our suffering by making all of these sufferings your servants instead of our enemies and masters!
As a Jew, Paul might have prayed to escape suffering. As a Roman, he may have prayed to endure suffering. However, as a Christian he was able to pray to enlist suffering and to make it his servant and to use this suffering for the glory of God.
If I pray to escape suffering, I am looking at my suffering as my enemy. If I pray to endure suffering, I am looking at my suffering as my master. If I pray to enlist suffering, I begin to look at my suffering as my servant and make it work for my good and God’s glory instead of allowing it to work against the very foundation of my faith.
As a word of caution, it is best to make a servant out of our suffering but if we are not very careful, we may make a messenger of our pain and of our problems and use them in the wrong way by bragging about them. Paul says that he is going to glory in his infirmity. He says in verse 9, that God told him, "My grace is sufficient for thee, my strength is made perfect in weakness." Paul’s immediate response to that was, “Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmity.” That does not mean that Paul was bragging about his suffering and there is a big difference.
I do not know whether you have ever met anybody that brags about their suffering or not, but I want to warn you, do not dare ask how they feel, because if you do they will give you an “organ recital.” I mean, they will tell you exactly how they feel, if you have the time to listen. Now I am not saying that we ought not to be sympathetic to people like that. I am just trying to get across that Paul is not saying that he will glory in his infirmities, so that he might brag about his suffering. It wasn't that Paul enjoyed poor health, that wasn't it at all, but Paul learned that his weakness could become a strength.
(Q) Now, how or in what ways do you enlist suffering?
(Q) How do you pray about your suffering, your troubles, your problems?
[ ] By asking God to help you to escape them?
[ ] By asking God to help you to endure them?
[ ] By asking God to help you to use them as your servants to serve you for God’s greater glory and your greater good?
(Q) Do you want God’s higher and bigger plans through your hurt and suffering, if that is His and will, and do you refuse to pray to escape them or merely endure them?
I KNOW YOU MAY HURT BUT WILL YOU RECEIVE YOUR SUFFERING AS A GIFT FROM GOD? In verse 7. Paul said, "And lest thou should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelation, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh." Paul did not see his suffering as an affliction; Paul saw it as a gift from God. God allowed the devil to inflict his suffering, however, where Satan or man rules, God always overrules. Paul saw that nothing could come to him except somehow God allowed it and it came through the omnipotence of the Almighty God first. So why not just receive those sufferings, troubles, hurts, and problems as a gift from God?
Some of you are right now are saying, “Some gift! Pastor Frank you do not know how just how badly I am hurting right now!” Well, let me ask you a question. Do you love God? Do you believe the teachings and promises found in the Bible? If you do, remember that the Bible says, “all things work together for good to those who love God” and he does not make any mistakes.
An old song Christians love to sing in worship services goes like this:
“All the way my Savior leads me, what have I to ask beside,
Can I doubt his tender mercy who through life has been my guide.
Heavenly peace, divinest comfort, here by faith in Him to dwell
and I know what’re befall me, Jesus doeth all things well,
(and I know what’er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well.)”
Just simply receive “what’er befalls you” as a gift from God, do not merely endure it, but receive it because Jesus doeth all things well.”
I KNOW YOU MAY HURT BUT WILL YOU RELY ON YOUR SUFFERING AS GRACE FROM GOD?
Do you remember the things that Job endured? Job said, “The Lord gave and the Lord taketh away.” Anybody could say that, but Job went on and said something else that made him stand “head and shoulders” above the rest of the people of this world. He said “The Lord gave, the Lord taketh away,” and then he said, "Blessed be the name of the Lord." When you can say that, dear friend, you are beginning to get victory in your life. You see, when you receive it you have stopped fighting God. You just simply say, “Lord, I receive it and rely on it for your glory.”
Sometimes you have sufferings, troubles, and problems that you have been praying about and you have prayed it through, and it seems like God is not giving you the answer you are looking for to escape it. Sometimes it seems God is not giving you the faith that you might merely endure it. Why not just enlist it, and receive it from the Lord remembering that God has a higher plan and rely on His plan and He will see you through? Pray and say “Lord, thank you, that it has been given to me. I know your grace is sufficient. Help me grow through this experience and teach me what you want me to learn” Paul said in verse 9 says. "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness."
THANK GOD FOR HIS GRACE!
1-THERE IS SINGING GRACE
The Bible says, "singing with grace in your heart." When Paul and Silas were in prison, God gave them singing grace.
2-THERE'S SPEAKING GRACE
The Bible says, "Let your speech be always with grace." God will give you the ability to talk about your troubles even with grace.
3-THERE IS SACRIFICING GRACE
The Bible speaks of those Christians in Macedonia. Who in their deep affliction and poverty were given grace to sacrifice and it says the grace of God was bestowed upon the churches of Macedonia and, "out of their affliction and out of their poverty they gave."
4-THERE IS STRENGTHENING GRACE
Paul told Timothy, "Be strong in the grace of Christ Jesus," Timothy was often sick and he had many infirmities but there was the grace of God to strengthen him.
5-THERE IS SUSTAINING GRACE
In all of these mentions of grace with Paul, grace was not there to take away the problems. Grace was there sustain Paul in and through all his problems to the end. Charles Haddon Spurgeon said this, “The promises of God never shine so brightly as when they [shine] in the furnace of affliction.”
I KNOW YOU MAY HURT BUT WILL YOU [RECEIVE YOUR SUFFERING AS A GIFT] FROM GOD, WILL YOU [RELY ON YOUR SUFFERING AS GRACE] FROM GOD, WILL YOU [REFLECT ON YOUR SUFFERING AS GLORY] TO GOD? That is what Paul did. Paul said in verse 10. "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake. For when I was weak, then I am strong."
In my estimation, there is not a greater Christian that ever lived than was the apostle Paul. There is not a man who more greatly, more aptly, and more beautifully displayed the glory of God than Paul. God knew just what it took to make Paul the servant of God that he ought to be. Paul’s great motive was to glorify the Lord Jesus. Paul's pain became a platform and a pulpit from which to glorify God and how he used it well. Everybody suffers, whether you are saved or lost, but isn't it wonderful that the Christian has the option and the privilege to use his suffering to glorify the Father. The unsaved suffer for no Godly good or cause, but we can make suffering our servant.
You may say, “But Pastor Frank, it hurts so bad!” Yes, it may, and God may allow you to hurt but he will never harm you.
HOW DO YOU PRAY WHEN YOU HURT?
**********YOU MAY PRAY TO ESCAPE IT**********
**********YOU MAY PRAY TO ENDURE IT**********
( OR )
**********YOU MAY PRAY TO ENLIST IT***********
( BY RECEIVING IT AS A GIFT )
*****RECEIVE THE GIFT OF GOD,*****
*****RELY UPON THE GRACE OF GOD,*****
( AND THEN )
*****REFLECT THE GLORY OF GOD.*****
It is in the times of pain and suffering that you can stand the tallest for God and be POSITIVE, UPLIFTING, ENCOURAGING, AND REASSURING to others. By the strength, which you receive in prayer you can let them know by your testimony as you live through your hurt and suffering that GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE and HE STILL LOVES US and HE HAS A GREATER PURPOSE FOR OUR LIVES!
(Q) As a Christian, are you willing to do that?
(Q) Are you willing to make your suffering a platform for Jesus, for God’s Glory?
(Q) Id you are a person who has never asked Jesus to be your Savior:
1- Are you suffering through life for uselessly?
2- Are you hurting and unfulfilled?
3- Does your life of heartache and pain seem to have no real purpose as you face the future?
4- Do you feel like you have missed something vital to your very survival that might be contributing to your suffering?
5- Are you tired of living in your lonesome world with no relief seeing there is no good reason for it?
Only you can change that, and you can change it right now by asking Jesus to forgive you of your sins and come into your heart .
To find more help in receiving Jesus Christ as your personal Savior please go to the Bible Study Title Page “ETERNAL LIFE.” Please send me an email and respond to me about any decision for Christ you make so that I may pray for you. Feel free to send me any questions, comments or responses you may have as well. For those who are already Christians I invite you to also please let me know of any decision you make in your Christian life and feel free to send me any questions, comments, or responses you may have to rfdenning1951@gmail.com
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