Bible Verse of the Day Tuesday July 25th, 2023

2 Corinthians 12:7b-9 Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from 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 about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

God sometimes uses Satan to implement tribulations and trials in the lives of believers. There are occasions when Satan is an unwitting tool in God's hands (1 Thessalonians 2:18). God allowed Satan to bring severe duress to the life of Job, and God allows Satan to move in the lives of anyone, but only under God's controlling hand. God will show us our weaknesses so we will not fall for Satan's trap of pride and arrogance. Two aspects of our lives are in play here, our reputation and character. Our reputation is what those around us seem to believe we are; conversely, our character is who we are.  

There are times when the answer to our prayers from God is no; prayer is not our effort to influence the movement of God. Some people insist that God answer their prayers in the manner that they see fit, but God sometimes has a greater intention that we as humans cannot comprehend. Sometimes God answers our prayers against what we see as the answer, but we still fail to receive God's message. We should learn to avoid praying for a specific thing if we get a clear indication from God that it may not be in His will that we receive it. Confidence in God's grace will open the door for us to learn to take pleasure in hardship and difficulty. 

Faith and Trust in God’s love, grace and mercy will clear the path for us to delight in affliction and difficulty. The concept of God’s grace is paramount in and through the New Testament, the word grace appears more than 150 times and is a major theme through the New Testament (John 1:14,16 &17; Acts 4:33; Romans 5:2; 1Peter 4:10). God answered Paul’s prayer by making it known to him that His grace was sufficient for him. Paul’s faith and trust in God needed testing, chastening is not a form of punishment it is a spiritual maturity builder, it is the vessel leading to developing our character. It is not our desire but the will of God that determines the answers to our prayers.