2 Corinthians 12:1-13:14

“My Grace is Sufficient”

Did Paul go to heaven? It certainly sounds like he did. He doesn’t mention this “man” by name but it is pretty clear that he is talking about himself. Exactly when this happened is also pretty clear. In Acts 14 Paul and Barnabas were on their first missionary journey. They were in the town of Lystra and the crowd turned against them. It was here that Paul was stoned and dragged out of the city. The Bible doesn’t actually say that Paul was dead but it does say that all of those involved sure thought he was dead. 

That would have been an excellent time for a trip to be caught up to the third heaven (whatever that is). I love the fact that Paul doesn’t come back ready to write a best seller or do the interview tour. In fact, he really had nothing to say because he “heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell.” Perfect!

I also love the fact that God put some ballast in his life. This ballast was Paul’s famous “thorn in the flesh”. No one really knows what it was. Here he mentions something about a “messenger of Satan,” but we don’t know for sure what that means. We only know that Paul prayed for it to be removed and it wasn’t. I suspect that Paul was pretty fervent in his prayer life. I also suspect that there was little lacking in his faith. This should strike a pretty hard blow to the notion that if we believe enough then we can get anything we want. Sometimes God insists on us getting what He wants, and I suspect that the closer we are to Him the more often those times crop up.

Some have speculated because of his comments in Galatians that he had physical trouble with his eyes. That would be fitting for the man who had seen the most in the spirit to be infirm in his natural sight. It is more than fitting; it is perfect. God uses the weak things to bring down the “strong”. He uses the foolish things to confound the “wise”. His power is made perfect in our weakness. That’s good news because it means that there are plenty of opportunities for His power to be displayed in my life. It also means that whatever may come our way - His grace is always sufficient for the need.