Beyond the Weekend: Saved
Your Past, Present, and Future Rescue
The word "saved" gets used a lot in church. But what does it really mean to be saved?
In this series, we look at how salvation works. It's not just something that happened to us in the past. It's something God is doing in us right now, and something he will finish one day.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh
Read: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 | Listen: 2 Corinthians 12
This year in Beyond the Weekend, journey through different biblical models of prayer—one each month. August’s focus is Lament: bringing our grief and struggle honestly to God.
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:8–9a
Paul suffers deep agony. Tormented and desperate for relief, he repeatedly pleads with the Lord in an emotionally charged lament. Then comes a subtle shift: “But he said to me…” God responds! Who is this God who answers Paul’s cry? He is a God of power, restoration, and peace. God willingly floods Paul’s weakness with grace so his glory can shine through him. God doesn’t tell Paul what he’s going to do; he tells him who God is!
Pain, whether emotional or physical, can pull our focus inward and tempt us to believe we are alone. But Paul shows us another way. Rather than ignore or deny our hurt, we can come to the Lord again and again with the honest emotions our circumstances call for. We come to a God who not only promises to be with us and give us the grace to make it through, but to come out with a stronger faith. We have a choice when we endure situations we don’t want and didn’t ask for. We can pull away and harden our hearts, or we can come to God, broken and honest, trusting that his grace might really be enough.
TODAY: Praying out of your pain in lament is a gift because you have somewhere and someone to go to with your burdens. Take some time to bring a hurt in your life before the Lord. Maybe, like Paul, you’ll need to bring your need to him more than once. Don’t hold back. Remember to listen.
