The Spiritual Strength God Gives to Sufferers

Unanswered Prayer as Suffering Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this [the thorn in the flesh], 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 Cor. 12:8–10) Why does God allow his children to suffer? One of the most helpful answers to this question in the whole Bible is found in these verses. Since Paul pleaded three times to have his thorn removed (2 Cor. 12:8), perhaps it is appropriate that Paul articulates this final purpose for suffering in three different ways: “for my power is made perfect in weakness” “so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” One of the reasons why God allows his children to suffer is so that the power of Christ will both rest on them and strengthen them in the midst of their weakness. Paul received a thorn in the flesh—most likely, a physical ailment—to counteract any conceit tha...