Everyday Christianity: Testing (5)
And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 2 Corinthians 12.7
A thorny issue
Christians have mixed views about the matter of bodily afflictions. Some see them as indications of unconfessed sin. Others will say bodily afflictions indicate a lack of faith: If we really believed, we would be healed. For still others, bodily afflictions are a kind of red badge of courage, proof that they have striven well and are due some deference for their troubles. Others, like Paul, wish they didn’t have to endure them but accept them as coming from the Lord for some larger purpose.
Paul put himself in the place of Job. Satan, he wrote, had come to him as a messenger, to “buffet” him. The Greek word means “to strike with the fist, once or repeatedly” (Louw and Nida). As with Job, Satan was allowed to inflict bodily injury on Paul, injury so bothersome that he prayed three times to be free of it. But he came to understand that God was using this bodily affliction to check Paul’s natural tendency to vaunt himself and to learn how the grace, strength, and power of God can overcome even bodily afflictions.
Therefore, Paul wrote, “most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (v. 9). He said he even “took pleasure” in his afflictions because they redounded through him to the glory of Jesus Christ (v.10). “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (v. 10).
Seek Christ, not pity
We may have a hard time identifying with Paul’s boasting and taking pleasure in his bodily afflictions. Pain is pain, and misery loves company. Our natural inclination, when we come into bodily pain, especially chronic bodily pain, is to seek pity or at least sympathy. We talk about our pain so that others will know and feel bad for us. We exaggerate the intensity of our pain because we hope others will notice and sympathize.
All these are natural responses. But we are not natural people. We are supernatural people, and we must not allow bodily affliction to distract us or others from our primary calling—to know, love, and serve our Lord Jesus Christ. I am not here counseling some stoical gritting of your teeth and refusing to mention your pain. Our pain can be a witness to our confidence in God’s goodness and our determination to hold fast to His Word and give thanks and rejoice in all things. That was Paul’s purpose in writing about his thorn.
As bodily afflictions descend, we seek not pity but Christ and the grace, strength, and power He can impart to us, overcoming the evil of our pain with the goodness of His unfailing Presence and love.
Grace for the present and forever
For the grace we need, not merely to bear up under bodily affliction but to glorify God through it, comes to us from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Julian of Norwich (1343-1416), that renowned anchoress and theologian, understood about seeking Jesus in times of bodily affliction. As she lay seriously ill in her prayer cell, her mind went to Jesus. She wrote that eagerly longed for Him to abide with her. He was more important to her than healing or even heaven. He became her heaven, with all the pleasure and joy that entails. She knew that, even if she should die, she would go to be with Jesus and that He would be all the heaven she needed: “and this hath ever be a comfort to me, that I chase Jesus to my Hevyn be His grace in al this tyme of passion and sorrow” (The Shewings of Julian of Norwhich, chapter XIX).
And knowing Jesus present with her in her affliction, she was reminded of that coming day when there will be no more affliction and no more sin, but only joy and pleasure in the Presence of the Lord. Thus she was strengthened in her soul, learning again that “the inward party is master and soverayn to the outeward”—the grace-filled soul is strengthened to move the body to its duties regardless of afflictions.
Looking to Jesus for mercy and grace in our times of bodily affliction enables us to look past those afflictions to see Jesus and the glory in His face, so that, as we continue looking on Him and all the glories of heaven, we receive the strength and power to continue serving Him, just as Paul did: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4.16-18).
We will know bodily afflictions, maybe even today. And in the midst of these, we may groan and travail like all the rest of God’s creation because of the buffeting of Satan (Rom. 8.21-25). But if we look to Jesus, look hard and long and often to see Him exalted in glory (Col. 3.1-3), we can receive grace, strength, and power to continue in our walk with and work for the Lord according to His good and perfect will.
Sound supernatural? It is. And custom made for all who are tested by bodily afflictions.
For reflection or discussion
1. Is the will of God thwarted by bodily afflictions? Explain.
2. What can you do to know Jesus more continuously present with you when you are suffering?
3. Despite bodily afflictions, the work of the Kingdom goes on. Explain.
Next steps—Transformation: Review your approach to undergoing bodily afflictions. Do you need to amend it in any way?
T. M. Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest: This week: Our Read Moore podcast features excerpts from the book, Patrick: A Devotional History. Our Crosfigell teaching letter is pursuing a series on the spiritual poetry of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column continues our study of “Everyday Christianity”. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
