I once asked God to remove a thorn from my flesh after
tiring from the literal pain it was causing. This thorn has caused me pain many
times before and many times before I have asked God to remove it and the answer
has always been, No. In the past I used to get angry at God, wondering if He had
even heard my prayers. When I first discovered that I had this thorn, I was a
very self-centered person who thought a lot about my own needs and gave little
thought to what God required of me or even wanted for my life.
As the thorn became
prevalent and quite frankly the center of my attention, I of course immediately
asked God to remove the thorn, the answer was, No! Then I asked God to remove
the pain, the answer was, No. Then, I became very mad at God! Then I asked God
to just lessen the pain, the answer was NO. Then, I became even angrier at God!
Then I asked God to help me endure the pain, the answer
AGAIN was, No, then, I simply broke inside and out and cried out to God and
said “I cannot do this without You!” I
then asked God to help me trust Him until the pain was gone. I then asked God
to help use this thorn & the pain to glorify Him. All of this took years!
2 Corinthians 12:6-10(NLT) Paul writes; “If I
wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the
truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond
what they can see in my life or hear in my message, even though I have received such wonderful
revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in
my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming
proud. Three different times I begged
the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My
power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses,
so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weakness and
in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ.
For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Paul lists what some of these “thorns" were - being
imprisoned, stoned, beaten, shipwrecked and attacked by angry mobs. I
Corinthians 2:3: "And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much
trembling." Like many believers, when Paul first started ministering, he
never felt he had the natural ability to do the job God called him to do.
"And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing
words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (I
Corinthians 2:4). Paul's infirmity or weakness of the flesh provided an
opportunity for the Holy Spirit to do a mighty work.
The purpose of the thorn in the flesh was to keep Paul
humble. Anyone who had encountered Jesus and was spoken to and commissioned by
Him (Acts 9:2-8) would, in his natural state, become “puffed up.” Add to that
the fact of being moved by the Holy Spirit to write much of the New Testament,
and it is easy to see how Paul could become “haughty” (KJV) or “exalted above
measure” (NKJV) or “too proud” (NCV).
It is understandable that Paul would consider this thorn a
hindrance to wider or more effective ministry (Galatians 5:14-16) and that he
would three times petition God for its removal (2 Corinthians 12:8). But Paul
learned from this experience the lesson that dominates his writings: divine power
is best displayed against the backdrop of human weakness (2 Corinthians 4:7) so
that God alone is praised (2 Corinthians 10:17). Rather than removing the
problem, God gave him grace and strength through it, and He declared that grace
to be “sufficient.”
God used a thorn in
Paul’s flesh to keep him humble and help him experience God in a way he may
have never experienced God apart from knowing his need for God. Even Jesus
Christ bore thorns in His flesh such as the agony of rejection, begrudging,
anguish and suffering. He even had to
wear a literal crown of thorns, though His thorns were undeserved. Jesus
endured His thorns to show obedience to His father, infinite love, boundless
mercy and unceasing grace to a sinful people in the world. I learned that Jesus
bore His thorns as a sacrifice for me and as I bear mine I find comfort that in
my weakness God has given me grace, mercy, endurance and strength.
I still have
the thorn and the pain but I no longer carry the burden of worry, of how or why
it afflicts me or even why it has not been taken from me. I get to use this
thorn to encourage others, to lean on God and show Himself strong through my
obedience and faith. I stand here today with an unwavering faith that His grace
is sufficient and now see the beauty of a thorn.
