God's Greater Goal

Read: 2 Cor. 12:7-10

I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. --- 2 Corinthians 12:8

The Bible In One Year:
2 Chronicles 7-9
Proverbs 30:21-33

I have an unmarried friend who prays earnestly for God to lessen or even remove his sexual drive. It causes him constant temptation. As gently as I can, I tell him I doubt that God will answer his prayer the way he wants. More likely, he will learn fidelity the way anyone learns it, by relying on discipline, community, and constant pleas of dependence.

For whatever reason, God has let this broken world endure in its fallen state for a very long time. God seems to value character more than our comfort, often using the very elements that cause us the most discomfort as His tools in fashioning that character. This was true in the life of the apostle Paul, who prayed fruitlessly that his mysterious "thorn in the flesh" be removed [2 Cor. 12:8].

In my own life, I am trying to remain open to new realities, not blaming God when my expectations go unmet but trusting Him to lead me through failures toward renewal and growth. I am seeking a trust that "the Father knows best" in how this world is run. I see that the way in which I may want God to act does not achieve the results I might expect.

When God sent His own Son --- sinless, full of grace and healing --- we killed Him. God Himself allows what He does not prefer, to achieve some greater goal. --- Philip Yancey

FOR FURTHER STUDY
Astoundingly, God doesn't exempt Himself from the
consequences of our sin. Read Why Did Christ Have To Die? at www.discoveryseries.org/q0202

GOD USES OUR DIFFICULTIES TO DEVELOP HIS SON'S LIKENESS IN US.