Handling Difficult Situations

by Alexandra Copeland

In 1Timothy 6:11-12(NKJV), the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” If anyone understood that faith is a good fight, it was Paul. He spent a portion of his life with a mind-and-heart-set that was completely opposite of Christ. Paul was converted to the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, and his life was completely changed. He was on his way there to persecute Christians when a light from heaven suddenly surrounded him, and he heard the voice of Jesus calling him by name. It was such a shock to Paul’s system that he was blind a few days and had to be led to Damascus by the hand of his companions.

God’s Grace
Paul had work to do. It was his destiny to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ, and he didn’t have a whole lot of time to play around. He had to renew his mind to the Word of God quickly, as God gave him the faith to teach and instruct the churches. The agility and discipline that he maintained for the work of Christ is an impressive model for any believer. It is particularly impactful when you consider all the obstacles he faced.  

He spoke about one such obstacle in 2Corinthians 12:9. He called it a ‘thorn in his flesh.’ He used the term ‘thorn’ to describe a messenger from satan that was sent to cause him problems and obstruct his work. This is a lesson to us. Jesus Christ never promised us that the way would be easy. There are tribulations and troublesome people we will encounter, and they will attempt to keep us from the good we’ve been assigned to do. We must see it for the evil it is and remain devoted to the work of our Lord. In 2Corinthians 12:8, Paul tells us that he begged God three times to remove this obstacle from his life. When I first read this verse, I thought to myself, “You mean he only asked the Lord three times!” But three was all it took. Each time God answered his prayer, and the third time established it in Paul’s heart.

In 2Corinthians 12:9(NLT), Heavenly Father gave Paul a spiritual strategy for handling difficult situations. This verse tells us, “Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” After receiving this heavyweight piece of truth and digesting it in his soul, Paul said, “So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.” For a very long time, many people have taught and thought that God was telling Paul he needed to just suck it up and deal with the nuisance. They thought God had refused to help Paul, and had allowed the thorn as a way of keeping him humble. Our God is all-powerful, perfect, and intelligent. He has many loving ways to help us cultivate humility and would not refuse to aid Paul in his time of need.

Let the power of Christ be at work
God informed Paul about the greatness of His grace. It’s not a wimpy thing, but an incredibly dynamic and powerful spiritual resource. God encouraged Paul to stop looking at his situation as being big and begin to see God as bigger than any problem he might face. There’s nothing too big for God, nothing too hard for His grace to handle. He gave Paul a strategy for handling difficult situations. It is to lean on God’s unmerited favor and to let the power of Christ work through us! God’s wisdom, love, and strength will always provide what we need, and it will help us to walk in the victory of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. 

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.