Title: Pride of the Underdog
Each person has their own strengths. Along with strengths, there are weaknesses, but most of them boast of their strengths. Then, is there anything to be proud of even for the weak?
?? Boasts thorns in the body.
There is a saying that a disease can be cured only by boasting, but it is not easy to boast about it. Paul had a thorn in his flesh, a disease. “He has given me a thorn in my flesh, an angel of Satan.” A thorn stings and hurts. The thorn is a plant that devastates the land. The thorn is a symbol of pain and curse. Paul says that sickness of the body is given by God. Thorn is another word for “spit”. Acupuncture pierces like thorns and causes pain, but not only does it give pain, but it also heals with pain. Satan's thorn pierces Paul's pride. “...a thorn in my flesh, an angel of Satan, was given to strike me so that I would not be overly sane.” When you drink the cup of humility, God fills you with grace. That is why it boasts of the thorns in its body.
?? Proud of rejected prayers.
Paul prayed earnestly to God two or three times. He asks you to remove the thorns from your body. God did not hear the prayer and sent it back. you have refused. “My grace is sufficient for you, he said to me, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (verse 9). For God's power to be manifested, Satan's thorn must be lodged in the flesh. “Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep Your word. It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your practices” (Psalm 119:67,71).
Paul brags that his prayers were not answered. If you boast about your success, you can lose it. If you brag about your failures, you will reap failures. If you brag about your strength, you lose, and if you brag about your weakness, your weakness will depart. I hope you have the grace to be proud of even the prayers that have been rejected.
?? brag about the weak
“If I must boast, let me boast in my weakness” (2 Corinthians 11:30). God uses not only the strong, but also the weak. Not only do they use large bowls, but they also use small bowls. Paul reveals his weaknesses openly. “When I dwelt among you, I was weak, afraid, and very trembling” (1 Corinthians 2:3). He was weak in spirit and weak in body. There was also a lack of speech. He said that when he wrote a letter he was strong, but when he dealt with him physically, he was weak and his words were not cool (2 Corinthians 10:10). He does not hide the difficulties he faced while preaching the gospel. “…there were times when I suffered so much that I had lost my hope of living and was sentenced to death in my heart. . He says he's been beaten up, went to jail, and risked death countless times.
“I will boast only in how weak I am, and how great God is who uses my weakness for his glory” (2 Corinthians 12:5).
If you brag about what is sick, you will be healthy. If you brag about your weakness, you will become strong. Because God's power is revealed through human weakness.