“God knows—”
“Boasting is necessary, though it is not profitable;
(The 2nd Letter of Paul to the Corinthians 12: 1-6 NASB)
but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—
whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know,
God knows—
such a man was caught up to the third heaven.
And I know how such a man—
whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know,
God knows—
was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words,
which a man is not permitted to speak.
On behalf of such a man I will boast;
but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in regard to my weaknesses.
For if I do wish to boast I will not be foolish, for I will be speaking the truth;
but I refrain from this,
so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me.”
Earlier this week, I received this message, one I hesitate to share but yet, only shared, to make a significant point about Almighty God.
The email went something like this—
Nancy,
Thanks for your encouragement and your passion to serve our students. Please let us know if you see any more Nancy News around!
Blessings,
Joe
As soon as I read this email, suddenly Satan proclaimed, ‘My look at you.’
God countered with HIS TRUTH—
“Child, continue to serve your students, loving them, caring for them, and seeing to their needs.”
- Have we ever received a pat on the back and thought, ‘Wow, this feels good.’ ?
- Have we ever received praise from our employer and contemplated, ‘My, look at me.’ ?
- Have we ever received accolades for a job well done and considered the truth: ‘We are merely doing the task, the job we were hired to do.’ ?
Praise does feel good & Compliments do cause us to step higher, but in reality, if we are walking with Jesus, then it is JESUS WHO DESERVES ALL PRAISE, ALL GLORY and not us.
That’s right, and this is what the apostle Paul is reminding us today.
We read in the Bible, in the letter to the church living in the city of Corinth.
Paul is saying, “I have some pretty special mileposts of times God revealed visions and revelations to me & certain situations when God allowed me to see and hear heavenly sights and sounds amazing things man ought not to see on this side of heaven.”
HOWEVER, THAT IS NOT THE TAKEAWAY HERE
BECAUSE WHEN GOD CHOOSES TO USE US AS HIS INSTRUMENT THROUGH VISIONS AND REVELATIONS—
It is never about you or me
BUT ABOUT—
ALMIGHTY,
OMNIPRESENT,
OMNISCIENT,
SOVEREIGN GOD!
God knows—
From where He has brought us, when we were lost and headed to eternal separation from Him.
God knows—
To whom He is taking us, while we still have days remaining to live for Him & walk in His will.
God knows—
EVERYTHING—What is going to occur today, tomorrow, next week, next year, ten years from today, and every single moment of each of our days!
& God knows—
EVERYONE’S INNER HEART—What we are thinking, Why we are doing what we are doing, Where our hopes and dreams lie & How close or How far we really are walking in relation to His Son Jesus!
God knows—
YES, CHILD of GOD!
“God knows— ”
“Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—
(The 2nd Letter of Paul to the Corinthians 12: 7-10 NASB)
to keep me from exalting myself!
Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me.
And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”
Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses,
so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
Therefore I am well content
with weaknesses,
with insults,
with distresses,
with persecutions,
with difficulties,
for Christ’s sake;
for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
- This verse reminds us of the Lord’s Saving Grace that took away our sins.
- This verse reminds us of the Lord’s Sustaining Grace that walks us through every difficulty.
- This verse reminds us of a song we (Christians) need to sing every single day as the Lord wakes us up & as the Lord sends us out into HIS WORLD—
“We are His story.
We are His song.
We are part of the greatest story ever told!”
“My Story” by Addison Road