TO BE STRONG IN ALL THINGS
By Pastor Paulus Budiono
Lemah Putro, Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Shalom,
Do we long for God to come as the Heavenly Bridegroom and are we ready to welcome Him? What "clothes" will we wear? Let us prepare to welcome His coming by facing all matters strongly as the Apostle Paul reminds us in his letter. Don’t follow Samson’s example that he toyed with his strength (the Holy Spirit) when he succumbed to Delilah’s seduction and ended up losing the Holy Spirit (Judges 16: 15-22).
What kind of strength do we need in preparation to welcome the Lord's second coming? Certainly not physical strength as possessed by Hercules or Mike Tyson but Philippians 4:13 writes, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
The Apostle Paul suffered greatly in prison, considered as a dangerous "prisoner" to the Jews and non-Jews as he was accused of harassing their religion and doctrine. However, he could write a joyful letter to the Philippians testifying that he obtained strength only from Christ Jesus. We, obviously, cannot count on the strength of any human being, however great they are. Of course, we should thank anyone who has helped us, but how much do we thank God who gave us life?
In Philippians 4:12 the Apostle Paul further said, “I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” He could bear all those things because God Himself gave him the strength. A simple example regarding food: we need strength from the Lord to be able to control excessive appetite in order not to be exposed to cholesterol, gout, etc.
Application: We cannot sort out the problems we can solve on our own from the ones we need the Lord’s help with an excuse that we should not bother Him as He might be overwhelmed with other businesses. We do need the strength from Him to endure all things; however, let’s not misinterpret it by positioning ourselves as passive robots, only waiting for His instruction. We must be active in doing our duties and obligations with His backup.
When did the apostle Paul need strength from the Lord? Not when he was in prison but in his ministry when he experienced: “….in stripes above measure, in deaths often, from the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one, I was stoned; I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have been in the deep; in perils of waters, in perils of robbers,in perils of my own countrymen, in sleeplessness often, in hunger, in cold, etc.” (2 Corinthians 11: 23-29). After all, Paul was only an ordinary man marked with weaknesses. Didn’t Jesus in the condition of Man and even Servant also experience weakness so that the angels from heaven descended to strengthen Him when He was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:43)? He was willing to be a weak human being and even crucified so that we are saved.
In reality, when we encounter a weak person, we often don’t strengthen them, instead, their weakness cause us to be weak too. Husbands, wives, children and parents often fall into sin easily with an excuse of "still being marked with humanly weakness".
Since Saul/Paul was chosen by God to be His instrument to preach His Name to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15), his life was changed completely. If he had previously hunted down Jesus' followers, now he was chased by the Jews to be killed (Acts 9:23). Worse yet, when he wanted to join the apostles, he was rejected; fortunately, Barnabas accepted him and explained that Paul had repented (vv. 26-27).
The Apostle Paul was used by God extraordinarily. 14 years before, whether in the body or outside the body he was raised to the third level from Heaven to Paradise (2 Corinthians 12:1-4). His experience with God made him consider all of his attributes (the native Hebrews from the tribe of Benjamin, circumcised on the 8thday, a Pharisee who did the Torah flawlessly, a genius disciple of Gamaliel, etc. (Acts 22:3) that he used to take pride in as trash in order to obtain Christ (Philippians 3: 5-8).
With the intention of making the Apostle Paul humble, despite how marvelously he was used by God, a thorn was put in his flesh by the messenger of Satan to harass him (2 Corinthians 12:7). He had cried out three times to God so that the messenger of Satan withdrew from him but God did not grant his request. Ironically, Paul could heal the sick but healing prayer for himself was rejected by God (v.9). His physical health was weak as said to the Galatians, but they welcomed Paul as they welcomed Christ Jesus (Galatians 4: 13-14). The devil most likes to disturb someone to be anxious; it’s far different from the Holy Spirit that makes us calm.
Honestly, each of us (including the servants of the Lord) is prone to have the desire to be popular, to be respected and praised. But the Lord teaches us to learn humility no matter how high our positions/hierarchy and status are. We can personally pray directly to God without needing to ask others to pray for us because He is omnipresent, even in our hearts. The problem is that we often got disappointed when we found out that He didn’t answer our prayer exactly as we wanted.
Why did God not grant the prayer of the Apostle Paul? His grace was enough for Paul (2 Corinthians 12:9). Take note, God's grace (including salvation, strength) cannot be bought. So, not because we pray and fast 40 days then our strength increases but it’s because God Almighty is with us. Jesus never worked poorly – He truly died on the cross, rose and ascended to Heaven and will return with His full power.
Being in a suffering state, the Apostle Paul heard God's answer that displeased his flesh, but he could accept it. The word "enough" means neither excessive nor deficient. The Lord wants us to be able to eat, drink and use His provisions as much as we need as He taught us in the Lord’s prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread" (Matthew 6:11) Unfortunately, the fact is that we always feel insufficient with what we have, which is self-destructive.
The Apostle Paul acknowledged that he preferred boasting of his weakness so that the power of Christ descended upon him (2 Corinthians 12: 9). In other words, in our weakness God's power is made perfect. So, if we feel strong (feeling able to control the church, to become a pastor in power, etc.), God will allow us to do everything on our own and He will just wait until we give in to Him.
The Apostle Paul was happy and willing to live in weakness, torment, hardship, persecution, and distress because of Christ for when he was weak, he was strong (v. 10). So, God's formula (not the doctrine of the Church) is that when we are weak, we become strong.
Remember, if we are humble, the devil loses and runs away from us because the Holy Spirit that is in us is far greater than the spirit that is in the world (1 John 4: 4). On the other hand, if we feel strong, we become the Devil’s toy like what Job experienced. The devil tempted Job (with God's permission) by snatching all his wealth, family and health (Job 1).
Initially, Job could accept the test as he acknowledged, “naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there.” (Job 1:21). But Job's endurance had its limits and he began to argue for his innocence. He unconsciously justified himself and the Devil laughed happily at this and provoked him even more into turning away from God.
Nevertheless, God did not give His (Job) servant up but intervened to remind him of the Lord’s sovereignty over the universe (vv. 38-39). Job soon came to his senses and humbled himself before Him (Job 39: 36-38). He, then retracted his words regretfully (Job 42: 1-6) and his condition was eventually restored (vv. 7-14). Later, he offered sacrifices and his prayers were heard by God.
Application: The prayer of a sinner which is done remorsefully will be accepted by God rather than the prayer of people who like to justify themselves.
Satan’s messenger kept on harrying the Apostle Paul with terrible ordeals with a purpose to make him deny the Lord. However, Paul no longer relied on his strength which was his pride before he repented. Instead, he humbled himself and admitted the most sinful person (1 Timothy 1:15); and for this reason, he gained great strength to be able to overcome the weaknesses of his body. Paul got great grace from God as His secret was revealed to him: “when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Application: We should honestly confess our weaknesses so that God will give us strength to endure all things in Him. Christ is God's power and wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:24); “for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” except by the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12).
In going through year 2020, do we really need His protection to encounter all unpredicted natural catastrophes (floods, earthquakes, bushfires, etc.), political and social issues? There is no other way except to humble ourselves before God and acknowledge our helplessness so that we can endure all things/troubles in Him who gives us strength. Rest assured, although our path to Heaven is difficult because of the many obstacles launched by Satan, we can still rejoice because He oversees our steps with His love and power. Amen.