Serving Rascals, Clumsy Disciples, and Physically and Mentally Ill Believers with the Unconditional Love of Jesus Christ
–Charles Spurgeon
“Adversity is hard to endure, and can even be harder to understand. If God were really in control, why would He allow the tragic auto accident or crucial job loss? How could He permit cancer in a loved one or the death of a child? Grappling with His concern for us we ask, “Why is God allowing this?” or “What have I done wrong?”–Jerry Bridges
Romans 8:28
2 Corinthians 12:7
“I have thanked thee a thousand times for my roses, but not once for my thorn. I have been looking forward to a world where I shall get compensation for my cross, but I have never thought of my cross as itself a present glory. Thou divine Love, whose human path has been perfected through sufferings, teach me the glory of my cross and the value of my thorn.”
— George Matheson
We like the rose, but tolerate the thorns. But alas, if we want the flower we must by default receive those pesky jabs. It’s part of the whole package. They come together and you can’t separate them (perhaps scientists will engineer a thornless rose someday).
The Apostle Paul engaged his own version repeatedly. On three different occasions he asked the Lord for relief.
“Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
2 Corinthians 12:8-9
Some conjecture can be made to what this thorn was. A telling word is “infirmities.” It means “feebleness of health; sickness,” (Thayer’s Lexicon, #769). Some have surmised it was a problem with his eyes, and that could well be. He was blinded on “the Damascus Road” for a period of time (?).
Satan has the power to afflict believers, but only under supervision. The verses declare God’s sovereignty over Paul’s thorn. God would work it for His own glory. Satan would be ultimately defeated.
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
This must of been an incredible truth for Paul to learn. Perhaps his entire ministry hinged on apprehending what the Lord wanted him to know here. It was a critical lesson for Paul to know. It would enable and sustain him through a very difficult ministry.
Those who are afflicted, mentally or physically, are in prime position to teach us about grace. They’ve experienced the thorns first-hand. And in their most lucid moments can tell us of finding strength in their weakness.
There is much to learn in these couple of verses. There is much to learn from our brothers and sisters.
What is your thorn? What repeatedly drives you to the power and grace of God? Can you see the Lord’s hand in it?
As a person with a mental illness, it seems my issues are a matter of extremes. Life seems uncontrollable; the wheels seem to always ready to come off of the wagon. It strikes me as a semi-crazed place to be. I look at the “norms” with envy, as their lives are crisp, healthy, and strong.
I once met a man that had a prophetic ministry who was speaking at a local church here in Alaska. When I met with him, he looked at me intently. He said many things, but the most significant was this. “You are an unstable man; you are like water.” This was almost 30 years ago. It has been an accurate prophecy and assessment since I heard it. At first it stung, I hated it; but now, all these years later, I find a certain comfort in it. God knows me; He understands. I haven’t found any reason to be condemned for being Bipolar.
Those of us who walk the tightrope of sanity and insanity have One in heaven who not only knows us, but is on our side. Hebrews 7:25 declares:
I must realize that I am not the “bad apple in the barrel,” nor am I cursed. Rather the opposite is true. I am the richest of all men, because of His radical grace that gets extended to the weakest. Those who “touch” my life are blessed by their contact with me, and since I have been so unnaturally “graced,” they become blessed by His presence through me. WOW! I simply need to be me, and they are drawn to you.
The issues that a mentally ill person (and those who are often a struggler and a rascal) faces are formidable. But without His promises they are impossible. The secular view is just to create a “zero sum” game. It is to bring a person to some stupefied place of stasis. Not exactly up–but not down either. Stable, sort of.
It is very good to be stable. But my goal can not be stability, but an obedience to a supernatural God who loves me supernaturally. I simply can’t live without knowing that. However, when I know it, I can handle the tightrope. I will start to walk a “supernatural” walk.
He loves working with us and in us. And I have become very much convinced that He pours out special favor on those of us who struggle so difficulty, those of us who will never fit in or be ‘normal.’
We need to come to that real and authentically holy place where we see God. But also in that place, and at the same time, we need to see ourselves as well. And actually, both are most critical. They are done imperfectly— but both must happen, nevertheless.
I exhort you to take on your tightrope. You will only stay upright and cross it if you are aware of His grand love and presence. It is an amazing thing to balance and walk, and if we fall? Well, we drop into His net. Get back up, and get in line again. Secure your heart into the love of God for your soul.
Broken Believers 