Weaknesses and Limitations
We all have many choices to make every day. Having a chronic condition does not change this. One of the definitions of chronic is something that is long-lasting and difficult to eradicate.
Some things can be fixed. Other things can be improved by treatment. Some things cannot be fixed except by supernatural intervention. Paul had a situation that he could not fix.
7 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.8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 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. (2 Corinthians 12:7-9 ESV)
Paul has some form of chronic condition. Many guesses have been made about what the “thorn” was, but we don’t really know. What we do know is that Paul makes several choices that might be helpful to us. The first choice is to take his “thorn” to God, asking that it be removed. The second choice is to accept God’s response, which was to leave the “thorn”. God does give Paul a reason for not removing his “thorn”: What Paul’s sees as a weakness is a way for God’s power to be made complete in Paul. This third choice is where my response is so different from Paul’s. Paul brags about his weaknesses to increase the power of Christ in his life.
Most of us have multiple “thorns” in our lives. Sometimes we call them “limitations”. They can quickly become excuses for not doing what needs to be done. My wife often gently reminds me that I need to do whatever I can whenever I can as long as I can. So last weekend we had a toilet that needed repair. We decided to replace the existing toilet with a new one. I know how to do this task and decided to take the project on. I made several mistakes along the way and ended up asking my contractor neighbor for help. He quickly identified what needed to be done and had the strength to do what I couldn’t. Asking my neighbor for help was a big deal for me even though he was glad to have the opportunity to help.
The next choice was different, but similar. One of the cars needed repair and after a quick check on YouTube it was something I would have been confident of doing at one time. Do I let last week’s experience discourage me and just hire someone to do the repair? Or do I give it a try, trusting that trying will give God the opportunity to demonstrate His power even if I’m not successful?
I chose to give it a try and I am glad I did, even though my results were not as good as the ones on YouTube. I discovered that there is much I can still do. I also confirmed that most tasks require both knowledge and ability. In this case the knowledge was there, and the ability was not. I also discovered that replacing the entire assembly could be done for a reasonable price. Bottom line is that because I tried, we are going to avoid a trip to the mechanic. My hands still shake too much to do fine soldering work, but with patience I can still do many things.
Thank you for this challenging and encouraging reminder.
In Japanese there is this saying, 餅は餅屋 (mochi wa mocha) which means: 「experts know best」「every man to his trade」
I tend to leave car repairs, carpentry and toilets to the experts.
I understand and there are many places I would follow this advice. However, these two areas I used more than capable of doing what needed to be done. The change in ability is a challenge to deal with.