Suffering has been a natural part of life since Adam and Eve. We’ve all experienced suffering. Each person’s suffering is unique and affects everyone differently. We can learn from Paul through his letter we call the book of 2 Corinthians.
In 2 Corinthians, Paul defends his call as an Apostle because a group of people who were against him were being divisive in the Corinthian church that he helped plant. He argues that, through his suffering, he has exactly what is needed to comfort other believers in their suffering. I am one of those who has been comforted by Paul’s suffering! I can attest to the Spirit-led words of 2 Corinthians that Paul is truly a leader in the faith because of his suffering.
Paul also wrote 2 Corinthians to encourage those who responded well to 1 Corinthians. Again, his experience with suffering is part of the encouragement he gave to the tender-hearted Corinthians.
In my Bible, the book of 2 Corinthians is all marked up. There is so much deep truth to be gleaned to lift up the hurting and encourage them in their faith journey. He reflects back on Christ’s suffering to encourage us in ours.
Treasure in Jars of Clay
To understand our own suffering, first we must look at what Jesus did for us.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.
2 Corinthians 4:7-12 (ESV)
The “treasure” in this passage is salvation through Jesus Christ. We are the jars of clay, and Jesus became a man, just like us, made from the dust of the ground. Jars of clay are basically dust and water and were inexpensive back in Paul’s time. Clay jars are easy to break. Yet Christ came to us, in the frailty of the human body, even though he is God.
As David Guzik put it, “We almost always are drawn to the thing that has the best packaging, but the best gifts often have the most unlikely packaging. God did not see a need to ‘package’ Jesus when He came as a man to this earth. Jesus was not embarrassed to live as an earthen vessel. God is not embarrassed to use clay pots like us.”
So, being in Christ, a believer is not crushed, driven to despair, forsaken, or destroyed, because Jesus overcame all of that for us. Our earthly body, the vessel in which Christ lives, might die, but our souls survive through eternity.
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (ESV)
When we go through trials, God is preparing us for what is unseen. Maybe someone else will benefit from our survival of that trial. Or maybe, as it says in Romans 5:1-5 and James 1:2-4, our trials will produce steadfastness, or perseverance, that we may need in a future circumstance. Ultimately, the trials of this life should encourage us to keep our focus all the more on the joy of eternity with Christ.
For When I Am Weak, Then I Am Strong
What gives Paul the authority to school us in surviving our trials? We can read through the book of Acts and his other letters to the churches and piece Paul’s suffering together, but we can also see his resume of suffering in 2 Corinthians 11.
Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.
2 Corinthians 11:25-28 (ESV)
Paul struggled with sharing these facts with the Corinthians because he didn’t want to be boastful, but there were a group of people who were against him, making it difficult for the Corinthian church to listen to his authority. So, he shared these credentials of his suffering so that they would take his message seriously. All this suffering was in the name of Christ, after all. Would he have suffered so much if he didn’t truly believe in what he was fighting for? In fact, he said in 2 Corinthians 12:5b, “On my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses.”
I understand where Paul is coming from. I never want to come across to people as, “Look how amazing I am that I made it through this or that hard thing.” Rather, when I tell my stories, I want people to see Christ’s work in my life. I want him to get the glory, not me.
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. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (ESV)
Many have speculated what Paul’s “thorn” is. Some say it’s a physical illness. Others think it could be chronic pain from one of his beatings. Some say it’s a mental illness. I’ve had the idea that it’s the constant pain of remembering all of those Christians he persecuted prior to his conversion. No one will ever know and, if you ask me, I don’t think the specific source of this thorn matters. I think its ambiguity is actually helpful to us in being able to relate our own personal suffering. What is more important in this section of Scripture, is what we’re supposed to get out of our suffering.
God says something really powerful to Paul, here, that we all need to highlight in our Bibles. In 2 Corinthians 12:9a God says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” It is through our weakness that God is glorified. What does it mean that, “My grace is sufficient for you”? Instead of taking away his thorn, God’s grace strengthened him under the trial. I think the constant reminder of our thorns keep us humble; our life is not about us, but about glorifying God. If we can accept that truth, God can use our pain to bring Christ’s message to others who need him.
My life verse is 2 Corinthians 12:10– “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” This verse is a constant reminder to me that my contentment comes, not from life’s pleasures, but from knowing Christ intimately. I am able to draw nearer to Jesus when I am weak, fielding insults, enduring hardships, persecuted, or experiencing calamities. When I am weak, I can do nothing on my own. When I am weak, I’m desperate to lean on Christ. I think this verse summarizes the main message of 2 Corinthians and we should all lean into this truth.
Bethany Marinelli is an author and speaker out of Orlando, Florida. She also supports her husband, Andrew, in his auto repair business and homeschools her son, Arthur.
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