SPEAKER_00: Hello, my friends, and welcome back to the Spray UMC podcast.
SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Hoyt, and I am grateful that you're here today.
SPEAKER_00: We live in a world that admires strength.
SPEAKER_00: We are encouraged to be confident, capable, productive, and independent.
SPEAKER_00: When someone asks how we're doing, we often say, I'm fine.
SPEAKER_00: Even when we are exhausted, frightened, hurting, or uncertain.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes that pressure follows us into the church.
SPEAKER_00: We may begin to believe that strong faith means never struggling, never becoming discouraged, and never needing help.
SPEAKER_00: We may hide our weaknesses because we do not want to disappoint other people, and perhaps because we fear that our struggle somehow disappoints God.
SPEAKER_00: But Scripture gives us a more honest picture of faith.
SPEAKER_00: The Apostle Paul was a faithful servant of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: He preached the gospel, planted churches, endured persecution, and experienced extraordinary revelations from God.
SPEAKER_00: Yet Paul also spoke openly about weakness.
SPEAKER_00: He told the church about a burden he could not overcome in a prayer that was not answered in the way he wanted.
SPEAKER_00: Today we are going to consider a difficult but hopeful question.
SPEAKER_00: What if weakness is not the place where God abandons us, but the place where we learn how deeply we need his grace?
SPEAKER_00: Paul described what he called a thorn in the flesh.
SPEAKER_00: Listen to his words.
SPEAKER_00: Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it would leave me, but he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may reside in me.
SPEAKER_00: So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insult, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties for the sake of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: For when I am weak, then I am strong.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible never tells us exactly what Paul's thorn was.
SPEAKER_00: Christians have suggested a physical illness, a painful limitation, persecution, opposition, or spiritual distress.
SPEAKER_00: We should resist the temptation to sound certain where scripture remains silent.
SPEAKER_00: Whatever the thorn was, it was real, it was painful, it persisted.
SPEAKER_00: Paul did not pretend otherwise.
SPEAKER_00: He pleaded with the Lord three times to remove it.
SPEAKER_00: That does not sound like a casual request.
SPEAKER_00: Paul brought his knee before God repeatedly and honestly.
SPEAKER_00: Asking for relief was not evidence of weak faith.
SPEAKER_00: It was an act of faith because Paul knew where to take his pain.
SPEAKER_00: There are moments when Christians feel pressure to make every prayer sound calm and victorious.
SPEAKER_00: Paul shows us that faithful prayer can also say, Lord, I do not want to carry this.
SPEAKER_00: Please take it away.
SPEAKER_00: We do not honor God by pretending that the thorn does not hurt.
SPEAKER_00: We honor God by bringing the truth into his presence.
SPEAKER_00: God did not answer Paul in the way Paul requested.
SPEAKER_00: The thorn remained.
SPEAKER_00: That can be one of the hardest realities of faith.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we pray and circumstances change.
SPEAKER_00: Healing comes, a door opens, a relationship is restored, danger passes.
SPEAKER_00: When that happens, we should give thanks.
SPEAKER_00: At other times the illness remains, the limitation continues, the grief does not disappear, or the situation refuses to change.
SPEAKER_00: We pray sincerely, and the answer we wanted does not come.
SPEAKER_00: We must be careful with one another in those moments.
SPEAKER_00: An unanswered prayer does not prove that someone lacks faith.
SPEAKER_00: It does not mean the person used the wrong words, failed to believe strongly enough, or somehow disappointed God.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus prayed honestly in the garden.
SPEAKER_00: He asked that the cup of suffering pass from him while surrendering himself to the Father's will.
SPEAKER_00: Honest desire and faithful surrender can exist within the same prayer.
SPEAKER_00: Faith does not require us to call suffering good.
SPEAKER_00: It calls us to trust that God remains good, even when life is painful.
SPEAKER_00: We may never receive a complete explanation for another person's suffering, and quick explanations can deepen the wound.
SPEAKER_00: Often, our presence, compassion, and practical help are more faithful than any attempt to explain everything.
SPEAKER_00: God's refusal to remove a burden does not mean he has refused to remain with us.
SPEAKER_00: God did not give Paul a full explanation.
SPEAKER_00: He gave Paul a promise.
SPEAKER_00: Sufficient grace means grace that is enough for the present need.
SPEAKER_00: It does not mean that every day feels easy.
SPEAKER_00: It does not mean that pain disappears, or that fear never returns, or that we never become tired and discouraged.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we want God to give us strength for the entire journey at once.
SPEAKER_00: We want to know that we can manage tomorrow, next month, and every possibility waiting beyond the horizon.
SPEAKER_00: But grace often becomes to us one day at a time, and sometimes one hour at a time.
SPEAKER_00: God may give us strength for the next faithful step rather than a complete map of the road ahead.
SPEAKER_00: Grace may come through the quiet presence of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: It may come through a passage of Scripture remembered at the right moment.
SPEAKER_00: A friend who refuses to leave, a church that brings a meal, a nurse who offers kindness, or a doctor who provides wise treatment.
SPEAKER_00: Grace may come as peace that arise even though the circumstances have not yet changed.
SPEAKER_00: Receiving medical care is not a failure to trust God.
SPEAKER_00: Asking for help is not spiritual defeat.
SPEAKER_00: God regularly works through the knowledge, compassion, and service of other people.
SPEAKER_00: Sufficient grace is not always grace for the whole journey at once.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's grace for today.
SPEAKER_00: God told Paul, my power is perfected in weakness.
SPEAKER_00: This does not mean that weakness itself is holy or that Christians should pursue suffering.
SPEAKER_00: It means that weakness exposes the limits of self-reliance and makes room for faithfulness of Christ to become faith visible.
SPEAKER_00: When everything is going well, we can easily imagine that we are carrying ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: We trust our plans, abilities, health, resources, and determination.
SPEAKER_00: Weakness reminds us that these gifts have limits.
SPEAKER_00: We are creatures, not the creator.
SPEAKER_00: The cross is the greatest example of God's power appearing through what the world called weakness.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus did not conquer through domination or worldly force.
SPEAKER_00: He gave himself in sacrificial love and obedience.
SPEAKER_00: What appeared to be defeat became the means through which sin and death were overcome.
SPEAKER_00: Resurrection followed the cross.
SPEAKER_00: God's power does not always appear as traumatic success.
SPEAKER_00: It may appear as endurance, patience, faithfulness, courage, forgiveness, or love that survives a painful season.
SPEAKER_00: It may appear when someone gets out of bed, attends another treatment, asks for help, or chooses hope for one more day.
SPEAKER_00: God's power is not displayed by proving that we never struggle.
SPEAKER_00: It is displayed when Christ remains faithful within our struggle.
SPEAKER_00: For me, weakness is not only a theological idea.
SPEAKER_00: Three days each week I sit in a dialysis chair while a machine does the work my body can no longer do for itself.
SPEAKER_00: Some treatments go more smoothly than others.
SPEAKER_00: There are days when I leave the chair physically tired and emotionally drained.
SPEAKER_00: The treatment still has to continue.
SPEAKER_00: There is no dramatic moment when I suddenly become strong enough not to need it.
SPEAKER_00: I would never tell you that dialysis is easy or that weakness is something I enjoy.
SPEAKER_00: I pray honestly about it.
SPEAKER_00: I am grateful for the treatment, but gratitude does not require me to pretend that the burden is light.
SPEAKER_00: Yet I have also learned that Christ meets me there.
SPEAKER_00: Grace comes through the people who care for me, through the prayers of others, through a word of encouragement, and through enough strength to take the next step.
SPEAKER_00: The weakness may remain, but Christ has not abandoned me within it.
SPEAKER_00: My weakness does not prevent God from being present.
SPEAKER_00: It makes me more aware of how I deeply I need Him.
SPEAKER_00: Your thorn may be difficult.
SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_00: Your thorn may be different from mine.
SPEAKER_00: It may be grief, chronic pain, depression, disability, fear, family trouble, loneliness, financial pressure, or a responsibility that has exhausted you.
SPEAKER_00: Our burdens are not identical, but the promise remains.
SPEAKER_00: Christ's grace meets us where our strength ends.
SPEAKER_00: Physical limitation is not spiritual failure.
SPEAKER_00: Needing rest is not the same as giving up.
SPEAKER_00: Receiving treatment is not evidence that faith has failed.
SPEAKER_00: Asking for prayer, counsel, assistance, or companionship can be an act of humility and courage.
SPEAKER_00: The church should be a place where people can tell the truth about their weakness.
SPEAKER_00: We should not pressure suffering people to smile, hide their pain, or perform strength for our comfort.
SPEAKER_00: We are called to carry one another's burdens, not judge one another for having them.
SPEAKER_00: There is also an important boundary we must state clearly.
SPEAKER_00: God's strength and weakness must never be used to tell someone to remain in abuse, danger, exploitation, or preventable suffering.
SPEAKER_00: Seeking safety, justice, medical treatment, counseling, or practical help can be a faithful response.
SPEAKER_00: Endurance does not mean refusing to help God has placed within reach.
SPEAKER_00: Paul's weakness taught him dependence upon Christ.
SPEAKER_00: It did not make him cruelly acceptable, preventable harm, holy, or wise assistance unnecessary.
SPEAKER_00: If you are facing a place of weakness today, begin by telling God the truth.
SPEAKER_00: Name the burden.
SPEAKER_00: Ask for relief without shame.
SPEAKER_00: You do not need to protect God from your honest prayer.
SPEAKER_00: Then place the outcome into his hands.
SPEAKER_00: Receive appropriate help.
SPEAKER_00: Stop comparing your strength with someone else's.
SPEAKER_00: Another person's ability does not define what faithfulness looks like in your body or for your circumstances.
SPEAKER_00: Look for the grace God has already provided today.
SPEAKER_00: It may not be everything you wanted, but it may be enough for the next faithful step.
SPEAKER_00: Ask yourself, where am I trying to appear strong when I need to receive God's grace?
SPEAKER_00: And when you do not know what else to pray, try this simple prayer.
SPEAKER_00: Lord Jesus, I do not have enough strength for everything before me.
SPEAKER_00: Give me sufficient grace for the next faithful step.
SPEAKER_00: Paul asked the Lord to remove the thorn.
SPEAKER_00: The thorn remained, but it did not have the final word.
SPEAKER_00: Christ's grace was greater than Paul's weakness.
SPEAKER_00: We do not need to deny our limitations.
SPEAKER_00: We can bring them honestly before Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: God may reveal his power by removing the burden, and when he does, we give thanks.
SPEAKER_00: God may also reveal his power by sustaining us beneath the burden that remains.
SPEAKER_00: In either case, our hope rests in Christ rather than our own strength.
SPEAKER_00: When our strength comes to an end, God's grace does not.
SPEAKER_00: His power is made perfect, not in the strength we pretend to possess, but in the weakness we honestly place into his hand.
SPEAKER_00: Let us pray.
SPEAKER_00: Lord Jesus, you know every weakness we carry and every burden we have asked you to remove.
SPEAKER_00: Give us courage to pray honestly and faith to trust you with the answer.
SPEAKER_00: Keep us from believing that weakness means failure or that suffering proves that we have too little faith.
SPEAKER_00: Be near to those who are ill, exhausted, frightened, grieving, or discouraged.
SPEAKER_00: Lead them toward the care, safety, and help they need.
SPEAKER_00: When you remove a burden, teach us to give thanks.
SPEAKER_00: When the burden remains, give us sufficient grace for the next faithful step.
SPEAKER_00: Let your strength be revealed within our weakness, and remind us that nothing we face can separate us from your love.
SPEAKER_00: In your holy name we pray.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Before we close, I want to let you know about my book, The Apostles' Creed, is available on Amazon.
SPEAKER_00: In this short, scripture-centered book, we slow down and consider what the familiar words of the Creed mean for our faith and daily lives.
SPEAKER_00: My prayer is that it will help you know and love Jesus Christ more deeply.
SPEAKER_00: You can find the Apostles' Creed by searching for my name, Hoyt S.
SPEAKER_00: Barrett Jr., on Amazon.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for joining me today.
SPEAKER_00: If you do not have a church home, we would love to have you worship with us at Spray United Methodist Church, located at 803 Morgan Road in Eden, North Carolina.
SPEAKER_00: We are a loving church where we love God and love people, all people.
SPEAKER_00: Until next time, may the grace of God rise before you and keep you safe.
SPEAKER_00: Goodbye.