by Johnathan Perz<\/p>\n
Struggles, infirmities, and adversities are a part of life. We all face them. Paul describes a struggle he brought before God on three occasions, seeking that God remove it from him. Instead of removing the burden, God let Paul bear it, admonishing him with the words, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.<\/em>“<\/p>\n Some burdens are self-inflicted, and we bear them because of our own folly (though God’s mercy often prevails despite our follies). God allows and gives other burdens so that we may grow stronger through absolute reliance upon Him. Paul accepted his burden by learning to most gladly boast in it that the power of Christ would rest upon him. Let us learn to bear our burdens with joy, knowing God’s grace is perfecting us and that He is working in us and through us. He hasn’t abandoned us to our burdens. He is empowering us to carry them in ways we could never on our own!<\/p>\n “And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong<\/em>” (II\u00a0Corinthians 12:7-10).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Johnathan Perz Struggles, infirmities, and adversities are a part of life. We all face them. Paul describes a struggle he brought before God on three occasions, seeking that God remove it from him. Instead of removing the burden, God let Paul bear it, admonishing him with the words, “My grace is sufficient for you,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[182,188],"class_list":["post-61525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-suffering","tag-trials"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5261,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-could-moses-be-called-meek\/","url_meta":{"origin":61525,"position":0},"title":"How could Moses be called meek?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 12, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: The Bible says that Moses was the meekest man on earth. Can we really believe that to be true considering all the things he did, such as the angry outbursts which eventually cost him the promised land and the grinding of the burnt golden calf? Answer: The difficulty you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8384,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-meekness-of-moses\/","url_meta":{"origin":61525,"position":1},"title":"The Meekness of Moses","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 26, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Numbers 12:1-15 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0If a little boy came up to and announced, \u201cWhen I grow up, I want to be the meekest man on earth!\u201d What would you think? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Oh, intellectually we know that meekness is a good thing. It is one of the fruit of the Spirit -\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33950,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/david-a-childs-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":61525,"position":2},"title":"David – A Child’s Faith","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 7, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ross Ward Text: I Samuel 17:32-37 David's Faith David Overcame Vs. 33-35 - bear and lion 33 - a youth 34 - shepherding 34-35 - lion and bear take a lamb David caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him 37 - The Lord that delivered\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55716,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-you-are-discouraged\/","url_meta":{"origin":61525,"position":3},"title":"When You Are Discouraged","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 12, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant Do you ever feel discouraged or disappointed? Welcome to the club! Take comfort in the fact that you are not alone. There are countless numbers of people who can sympathize with you, as these feelings have impacted people on planet earth for multiple thousands of years.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/discouraged-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":67787,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/preachers-wives\/","url_meta":{"origin":61525,"position":4},"title":"Preacher’s Wives","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer My wife has been a \"preacher's wife\" for a long time. She doesn't see it as a burden; she doesn't complain. She doesn't see herself as being in an elevated position and doesn't worry about being in the spotlight. I've seen her take things in stride far\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14897,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-get-back-to-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":61525,"position":5},"title":"How do I get back to God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 4, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was a spiritual person until certain events took place in my life. Having God in my heart is what got me through my very unstable childhood, and most of my military career. 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