2 Corinthians 12:9 (TPT), “But He answered me, “My grace is always more than enough for you, and My power finds its full expression through your weakness.” So I will celebrate my weaknesses, for when I’m weak I sense more deeply the mighty power of Christ living in me.”

In John 16:12 Jesus told His disciples, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” The reason they weren’t ready to hear what Jesus had to say was because they needed the indwelling Holy Spirit to understand and appropriate it. In verse 13-15, Jesus explained how the Holy Spirit will reveal things that are to come and will take what belongs to Jesus and declare it to them. After Paul was caught up in the 3rd heaven, he received revelation knowledge from the Lord Jesus concerning our true identity in Christ. In Ephesians 1:17-23, he prayed that every believer would receive the spirit of wisdom and revelation concerning who the resurrected Jesus is, and everything we have inherited because we are in Him. A vital part of that revelation is the truth that the same power that raised Jesus up from the dead - raised us up in Him too. That power seated Jesus at the right hand of the Father and seated us right with Him! With that position comes authority over all the works and power of the devil! The devil knew he was in trouble when Paul received this revelation, and he wanted to prevent other believers from receiving it too. Which is why he sent someone to harass and distract Paul and prevent him from doing so. In 2 Corinthians 12:8, Paul said he asked God on 3 occasions to deal with the harassment. But the Lord told Paul that He had given him the grace to deal with it himself. God said His grace was sufficient for Paul and His strength was made perfect in Paul’s weakness (NKJV). The word grace here means supernatural empowerment. It’s the Greek word charis, and it is described as a divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in the life. God reminded Paul that His resurrection power dwelt inside of him, and if he would allow his mind to grasp that truth, faith would rise up from his spirit-man. That faith would cause Paul to stand in his authority over the devil, speak to that evil spirit empowering the harassment, and command it to cease. If the devil has been trying to harass and prevent you from living in victory in a particular area of your life, then like Paul, begin to renew your mind to who you are in Christ and what is yours because you are in Him. As faith arises inside you, stand in your authority and command the devil to leave! Paul did it, and so can you - because you’ve been empowered by God’s grace to do so!