Note 20 at 2 Cor. 12:9: The Lord didn't remove Paul's thorn because Jesus didn't redeem us from persecution (see note 14 at v. 7, p. 1041). If Paul's thorn had been sickness or poverty, then he could have prayed and received deliverance. But in persecution, the Lord doesn't deliver us, He strengthens us to be able to bear all things, thereby bringing glory to Himself and conviction to our persecutors.

Note 21 at 2 Cor. 12:9: This is not speaking of physical weakness or character flaws. The Lord is telling Paul that when he gives up, then the Lord takes over. Any time we cease trusting in ourselves and trust in God, the Lord shows His strength. It is when we lean on our own abilities that we get in trouble.

Paul had more reason to trust in himself than his critics did. He had the better resume. But he had learned the lesson of not trusting in himself. He had counted all his accomplishments as manure (Phil. 3:7-8), and he had become totally dependent upon Christ living through him (Gal. 2:20). He had learned to be weak in himself so that Christ could be strong in him.

The Lord's power delivers us from things such as sin, sickness, poverty. That is not to say that Christians never sin, never get sick, or never have financial problems. But the Lord's power is always available to bring us victory over all these things. However, concerning persecution and the many day to day problems that we encounter, the Lord hasn't provided deliverance from these, but rather the strength to endure. We have to have the motivation to change the things that we can change, the strength of Christ to persevere through the things we can't, and wisdom to know the difference.

Note 22 at 2 Cor. 12:9: As explained in note 21 at 2 Corinthians 11:30, page 1039, the word "infirmity" here is not referring to sickness. The context of this verse makes this very evident. In chapter 11, Paul listed the things that he called his infirmities (2 Cor. 11:23-30). None of these included sickness (see note 17 at 2 Cor. 11:27, p. 1039). His infirmities were the hardships that he suffered because of the preaching of the gospel. In the next verse he confirms this again by listing five things that he suffered joyfully. None of them were sickness (see note 25 at v. 10, p. 1043).

A further list of Paul's persecutions and infirmities are listed in Acts 9:23, 26-29; 13:6-12, 44-50; 14:1-19; 16:12-40; 17:1-14; 18:1-23; 19:23-31; and 20:3.

Note 23 at 2 Cor. 12:9: Paul was not just glorying in suffering, as some masochists do today. The reason he took pleasure in suffering was because he knew the Lord's strength would be manifest in his weakness and the Lord would use this to bring glory to His name.

An example of this is found in Acts 14:19-21. Paul was stoned and left for dead at Lystra. If he wasn't dead, he was so close to it that those who wanted to kill him thought he was dead and left. "Howbeit as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up and came into the city. . ." (Acts 14:20). The next day he traveled (probably walked) over 20 miles to Derbe (see note 3 at Acts 14:20, p. 658). This wasn't bad for a man who had been killed the day before.

It had to be God's strength that enabled Paul to travel the day after his stoning. There were probably cuts, bruises, and swollen parts of his body that testified to what he had been through, yet he didn't miss a day ministering for the Lord. Certainly this was an even stronger witness of God's power to those he ministered to in Derbe. God's strength overcame Paul's weakness.