There is a clear distinction between revelation and a “proceeding word.” Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God,” Matthew 4:4.
In 2 Corinthians 12:7 – 10, Paul asked the Lord to remove his thorn in the flesh, which he termed “a messenger of Satan.” Paul had tremendous knowledge of the scriptures. His early life would have been trained and steeped in them. After his salvation experience and new calling, God gave him great revelations, of which much of the New Testament is made up from his letters. In spite of these great revelations he still needed a proceeding word from God for his situation, his “thorn.” God gave him one, it was not what he expected.:- “My grace is sufficient for you: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
There are times in our lives when we ask God to change our situation or our weakness, but God’s answer is to give me His grace for it, His strength, that it be a learning curve for me. What Paul once viewed as persecution in his life, he now saw God in it all. God moved him up to a higher gear.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God,” Matthew 5:8. When trials come, do I see God in them or blame the devil?
God’s word declares His grace IS sufficient. If I am finding an insufficiency I must take the blame and humble. God’s daily challenge is “Prove Me now!” There are untapped reservoirs of grace in Heaven at my disposal through the finished work of Calvary. I come to Jesus in my poverty and access God’s bountiful storehouse of grace and mercy.
Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was the ballast God permitted in his life “lest he became exalted above measure,” for the tremendous revelations God gave him.
2 Corinthians 12:7 “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.” God knows what each of us needs in our walk with Him. He is God, I am not. I bow at the throne of His wisdom.
When Paul embraced God’s proceeding word for him, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness,” his spirit soared. He mounted up on the eagle wings of God’s strength and then declared, verse 9, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest on me.”
…..THAT THE POWER OF CHRIST MAY REST ON ME! This is the glory of God in the divine exchange: His strength for my weakness.
I see that the way up, is down. As I humble myself before God, He will lift me up, enabling me to move in His presence, carrying it, dispensing it into the world, for “the kingdom of God is within you.”
Man always looks for a new way, a better way – but God made a way, the Way, His name is Jesus. I can only come to God just as I am, weak and needy – then the Royal Exchange takes place and I operate through the life of Another – Jesus. HIS strength enables me to stand where I would fall without Him, and I find and prove His all encompassing sufficiency for every area of my life. For all that I am not, He is that to me. He is the ALL SUFFICIENT ONE, Who gives of His sufficiency to the weak and humble, and transforms them into mighty sons and daughters of the Living God, manifesting the Kingdom of Heaven.