• 2 Cor 12:7-10 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

-Some regard the “thorn” refers to his sickness in Gal 4. Some regard this as persecution of Satan. Nobody knows what actually is this thorn.

-What Paul wants to reiterate is the effects of this “thorn” . When you have great gifts, there will be occurrence of pride.

-Prov 18:12 Pride will cause a person to fall.

-Dan 4:29- 33 The downfall of King Nebuchadnezzar due to his pride. God punished him because he was proud and he was later driven from men. When he came to his understanding, he realized that he should give praises to God.

-Sometimes, we need people to remind us that we are proud.

-Different reactions when people tell us that we are proud.

Be watchful & change? Examine ourselves? Unhappy? Angry? We all have our blind spots and we need people to point out our weakness.

-We have to watch over our speech lest we may offend our brethren. We have to give consideration to other people’s situations.

-We have to humble ourselves when people point out our weaknesses. Examine ourselves and submit to prayers.

-1 Pet 5:5-6 Bible tells us to be humble and use humility to serve one another in the house of God. The church will then be a warm place and everyone will accept each other and not compare with one another.

2 Cor 12:9 The 2nd purpose of the ‘thorn” is for Paul to realize his own weakness. The power of Christ will rest in those who are weak.

-1 Cor 1:27-28. God chose those who are foolish, weak, despised. Why? To manifest God’s power to help those who need him.

-When a person is at his weakest, without support, this is the time that God will manifest his power. Jesus when he was in the flesh also had his time of weakness. JC cried twice. Once during Lazarus death. The other time was in Heb 5:7 JC prayed in tears and pleading to God to save him from death. Jesus cried because he was weak in flesh.

-Some people cannot see their own weakness but can see others’ speck/weaknesses.

-Church of Laodicea was a church who could not see their own weakness and was rebuked by JC.

-We have to be thankful if there are believers who are able to point us of our weaknesses. On the other hand, we should be humble ourselves to accept their advice.

-Rom 8:26 The Spirit helps us in our weakness for we do not know how to pray as we ought. Since we cannot see our own weakness, we do not know how to pray. The Holy Spirit will help to intercede for us.

-We ought to examine and ponder ourselves. Let the Holy spirit renew ourselves. To ponder what weaknesses we have, our speech, our blind spots. If we have to quickly pray and change.

-Just like Paul he prayed 3x to ask God to help him. Paul thanked God for this “thorn” and boast of his weakness so that the power of God can be manifested.

-Jesus said to Paul “My grace is sufficient for you” So when Paul had this “thorn” in his flesh, Paul was reminded of his weakness and at the same time to pray to God for God’s power and God’s ever presence with us.

-In our service to God, we need to examine ourselves and when we see our weakness, we need to pray to God and let God’s power manifest changes in ourselves. We also need to realize when we serve God, it is not because of our ability but because God’s grace in our lives.

May God be with us and guide us in our lives always as we submit to him in our prayers.