0 Chapters0 Books0 People0 Places

Day 7 of 7

Strength in Weakness

Back to plan

When God Said 'My Grace Is Enough'.

Q: Is the Prosperity Gospel Biblical?

The prosperity gospel promises what the Bible doesn't — and ignores what it does.

Q: What Does the Bible Say About Eating Disorders?

The Bible addresses the roots: shame, control, identity. Your body is fearfully made — not a project to fix.

Q: Does God Actually Answer Prayer?

God answers every prayer — but not always the way you want. The Bible shows three responses: yes, no, and not yet.

Q: What Does the Bible Say About Failure?

Peter denied Jesus three times. David committed adultery and murder. Moses killed a man. The Bible is full of catastrophic failures — followed by radical restoration.

Q: What Is 2 Corinthians About?

2 Corinthians at a glance — authorship, date, key themes, and why it's in the Bible.

Q: What Was Paul's Thorn in the Flesh?

Paul asked God three times to remove his 'thorn in the flesh.' God said no. Theories include bad eyesight, epilepsy, a speech impediment, or persecution. Nobody knows for sure.

2 Corinthians 12 — Paul got caught up to heaven and still won't flex

5 min read

Key Takeaways

God told Paul 'My grace is enough' instead of fixing his struggle — proving weakness is literally where divine power hits hardest

📢 Chapter 12 — Strength Looks Different Than You Think 💪

has been in the most uncomfortable position — having to defend his own ministry to the very people he helped bring to . False teachers had rolled into talking themselves up, and the was actually listening. So Paul has been "boasting" — but the whole time, he's been doing it reluctantly and flipping the script on what's actually worth boasting about.

Inside this Chapter

Hope Prayer Identity Strength Suffering Self-Worth

Questions about this Chapter

theology

Is the Prosperity Gospel Biblical?

application

What Does the Bible Say About Eating Disorders?

theology

Does God Actually Answer Prayer?

application

What Does the Bible Say About Failure?

history

What Is 2 Corinthians About?

history

What Was Paul's Thorn in the Flesh?

Share this chapter

Link copied!

Reflect

Elijah was so depressed he asked God to let him die — and God sent food and sleep, not a lecture. What does that tell you about how God responds to depression?

Looking back over this week, what's one truth that cut through the darkness, even a little?

Now he pulls out the biggest card he has: a vision of itself. But even here, Paul refuses to make himself the main character. What he does instead is one of the most honest, vulnerable things anyone in ever said.

Caught Up to Paradise 🌌

starts by saying he doesn't even want to keep going with the boasting, but the Corinthians have left him no choice. So he goes there — visions and from the Lord Himself:

"Look, I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body — I have no idea, God knows. This man was taken up into paradise and heard things that are impossible to put into words. Things no human is allowed to repeat."

Paul is clearly talking about himself here, but he frames it in the third person on purpose. He's not trying to flex — he's making a point. He says he could boast about this experience, and he wouldn't even be lying. It actually happened. But he holds back so that people him based on what they can see in his life and hear in his teaching, not based on some wild supernatural experience they can't verify.

That's a level of most people wouldn't have. If you had a literal trip to , you'd probably lead with that. Paul almost hides it. 🧠

The Thorn That Wouldn't Leave 🌿

Strength Suffering

Here's where it gets deeply personal. reveals that the same God who gave him those incredible revelations also allowed something painful to remain in his life:

"To keep me from getting conceited about these surpassing revelations, a thorn was given to me in my flesh — a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me humble. I begged the Lord three times to take it away."

Nobody knows exactly what this thorn was — a physical illness, a recurring struggle, relentless persecution. Paul doesn't say, and maybe that's the point. What he does share is response, and it's an exceptionally important line in the entire Bible:

Jesus said: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

Paul didn't get the healing he asked for. He got something deeper — a that God's power shows up most clearly when we're at our weakest. And Paul's response to that is unreal:

"So I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. For the sake of Christ, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and disasters. Because when I am weak, then I am strong."

This flips everything. The world says strength is never struggling, never lacking, never needing help. Paul says the opposite — his weakness is the exact place where God's power lands. That's not copium. That's operating at a level most of us haven't reached yet. 💯

You Made Me Do This 😤

catches himself and basically says "I sound ridiculous right now — and it's YOUR fault":

"I've been acting like a fool! You forced me into this. You should have been the ones commending me. I wasn't inferior to those so-called 'super-apostles' in any way — even though I'm nothing. The signs of a true apostle were performed right in front of you — patience, signs, wonders, mighty works. The only thing you got less of compared to the other churches is that I didn't ask you for money. Forgive me for that terrible offense!"

That last line is pure sarcasm, and it hits different. The false teachers were taking the Corinthians' money while questioning Paul's legitimacy — and Paul's "crime" was that he served them for free. The irony is sharp. 🎤⬇️

I Want YOU, Not Your Stuff 🫶

tells them he's about to visit for the third time, and he's still not coming for their money:

"I'm ready to come to you again, and I still won't be a burden. I don't want what you have — I want YOU. Kids aren't supposed to save up for their parents. Parents save up for their kids. I will gladly spend everything I have — spend myself completely — for your souls. If I love you more, does that mean I get loved less?"

Then he addresses a specific accusation — apparently some people were saying Paul was being sneaky, using other people to take their resources indirectly:

"You say I was crafty and took advantage of you through deception? Really? Did I exploit you through anyone I sent? I sent Titus and the brother with him — did Titus take advantage of you? Didn't we operate in the exact same spirit? Walk the exact same path?"

Paul is basically saying: go ahead, audit me. Check . Check everyone I sent. The receipts are . No cap. 🕊️

The Real Talk Before He Pulls Up ⚠️

shifts the tone here, and it gets heavy. He's not defending himself for his own sake — he's doing it because he genuinely these people and he's worried about what he's going to find when he arrives:

"If you think this whole time I've been defending myself to you — no. Everything I've said has been in the sight of God, in Christ, and for your building up, beloved. But I'm afraid that when I come, I might not find you the way I want — and you might not find me the way you want."

Then he lays out exactly what he's afraid of:

"I'm afraid there will be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. I'm afraid my God will humble me in front of you, and I will have to mourn over many who sinned and haven't repented of impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality."

That word "mourn" is important. Paul isn't coming in hot to cancel people. He's saying the thought of finding unrepentant in a community he loves would break his heart. This isn't a power trip — it's a pastor who is genuinely grieving at the possibility that people he gave everything for might still be walking in the same destructive patterns. isn't optional. And real love tells you that, even when it's uncomfortable. 💔