Pleading With the Lord

I heard about a youth minister who sent a thank you letter to those
adults who had served in some way throughout the previous year. His letter
began: "Last summer I asked you to consider working as a youth coach in our
church's junior high youth group. I am thankful for your acceptance of that
challenge over this past school year. You may have felt extremely incapable
as you thought about working with junior highers, but you claimed 2
Corinthians 12:9 nevertheless."

Part of this verse says, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power
is made perfect in weakness."

However, his secretary made the mistake of typing 2 Corinthians 12:8 as
the scripture reference instead, which reads, "Three times I pleaded with
the Lord to take it away from me!"

Though the particular verse quoted may not have conveyed the proper
thought, that whole passage in 2 Corinthians is a powerful lesson to us.
Through it, we learn that God does not always grant us what we request in
prayer. Sometimes he sees that what would be best for us is not the same
thing as what we believe would be best for us. We want the problems to
disappear; God wants us to grow closer to him. We want life to be easier;
God wants us to mature and be strengthened. Listen again:

"Concerning this thing [the thorn in the flesh] I pleaded with the Lord
three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, 'My grace is
sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore
most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ
may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches,
in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am
weak, then I am strong." (2 Cor. 12:8-10).

Perhaps there is a trial in your life that you are praying for God to
remove. He may do so. But if he does not, may God bless you with grace and
strength.

Alan Smith