When Monica’s son Augustine wanted to leave home for a city known for its immorality, she pleaded with God not to let him go. But he went anyway, which greatly grieved his mother, yet it was there that God transformed his life. In his Confessions, Augustine later prayed, “Yet in your deep counsel you heard the central point of her longing . . . [so] that you would make me what she continually prayed for.” Augustine not only became a believer in Jesus, but he also became one of the most influential Christian thinkers in history.

Sometimes God doesn’t give us what we ask for—giving us instead something of greater worth. Like Monica, the apostle Paul asked God for something he didn’t receive. We don’t know what Paul’s “thorn” in his flesh was, but we know it tormented him, and “three times” he “pleaded with the Lord to take it” from him (2 Corinthians 12:7-8). Yet God responded, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (v. 9). In the end, Paul concluded that he would “boast all the more gladly” about his weaknesses so that he might know more of “Christ’s power” (v. 9).

Paul’s response shows us the way forward when we’re waiting for God’s answers, or when they aren’t what we expect. Jesus is our hope in all things, and in His strength we have more than we need.