He Shows, and He Grows, Because He Knows Me

“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  ( 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 ESV)

Almost all believers are familiar with this passage of Scripture, where Paul talks about being caught up to the third heaven: “And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.” Normally, we use this passage to show that God does not always answer our prayers for healing, and while that is true, I think there is much more to these verses than just that.

If you are like me, and I bet at least some of you are, you’ve asked this question of God, “Why is this happening to me?” “This” ranges from an inconvenience of having a flat tire on the way to an important meeting at work to a major interruption and/or delay to something you’ve been planning for a long time, and yes, even having unexpectedly been diagnosed with an illness or dealing with a long-term medical condition. From our perspective, it may seem like the more we serve God, the more “problems” come into our lives.

As I have studied Scripture, I’ve found at least three reasons why unexpected things happen to believers. 1. God wants to Show Me something to keep me from sin. 2. God wants to Grow Me, to help me increase my faith in Him. 3. Because God Knows Me and wants my faith to be an example to others.

Now before we get into these three possible reasons for God interrupting our plans, we need to discuss the differences between “Trials” from God and Temptations from Satan. In the original Greek, the word “test” is translated into English as “Trial” or “Temptation,” depending on the context. A Trial is an event that occurs in our lives that God uses to bring us closer to Himself. A Temptation is an event in our lives that Satan uses to separate us from fellowship with God. Temptations have the purpose of causing us to sin. Trials have the purpose of bringing us closer to fellowship with the true living God. Satan wants us to fail the “test”; God wants us to pass the “test”. James 1:13 shows this truth: “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.”

So, when God uses a trial in our lives, He is slowing us down, causing us to examine the situation and to look to Him for wisdom. So, here we are, going along at full speed. We’ve determined the direction we should take, and we are working toward that goal as hard and as fast as we can go. Or maybe we are procrastinating over a decision that God has directed us to make. Whatever the cause, God wants to get our attention to Show Us, to Grow Us, or because He Knows Us.

As we can clearly see in today's passage from 2 Cor. 12, God gave Paul a “thorn in the flesh” to Show him that he was going in the wrong direction and was headed toward sinning, as Paul said, “to keep me from becoming conceited”. It appears that because of the great revelation God gave Paul and his glimpse of paradise, Paul started to think it was about him in some way. That God chose him for this honor because of Paul’s activities, but God said No Paul, it isn’t about you. It’s about Jesus and what He has done, not what you have done. So, one reason God could slow us down and get our attention with a trial is to Show Us that we are heading in the wrong direction.

Then God could be using a trial to Grow Us spiritually. Continue to look at today's passage, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” So, God used this ongoing trial, this thorn in the flesh, to cause Paul’s faith in God to grow. Friends, I wish it weren’t true, but it is. Reading about God’s faithfulness in someone else’s life isn’t the same as experiencing it for yourself. Sometimes, God allows trials to come into our lives so that we learn to trust Him, to stop thinking we can do “it” on our own. He allows us the privilege of seeing God in action in our lives. The result, without failure, brings us closer to our God and grows our faith.

Then God could be allowing us to go through this trial because He Knows Us, our faith in Him, and will use our testimony to encourage other believers who are or may face similar trials. God has already grown your faith; now He wants you to show others how great He is. Like it or not, our lives are a living testimony of our faith in God.

Now, I’m not saying that God can’t use trials in the lives of believers for other reasons, but I’ve found these three reasons to be a pretty good starting place when I want to ask God, “Why me, why now, why this way?!”

To Show Me, to Grow Me, or because He already Knows Me.

"Living in Grace is not about what I can do, but about what Jesus has already done!"