What Is Your Thorn?
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'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 weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. '
2 Corinthians 12:8-10 NLT
In this epistle to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul tells the people that he boasts only of his weaknesses so the power of Christ can work for him. What is it that he begged Jesus to “take away”? Paul refers to it as “a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.”
Was it a physical ailment? What is someone who was a constant “thorn in his side?” Nobody knows for sure. As for ailments, the guesses run the gamut from a chronic eye problem, malaria, or migraines to epilepsy or a speech impediment. Perhaps it was Alexander the coppersmith, who is referred to in 2 Timothy 4:14.
Regardless of what Paul’s thorn was, he asked Jesus repeatedly to take it away. But there was a reason the Lord refused — He wanted Paul to build character and stay away from pride. God didn’t remove Paul’s thorn; instead, He blessed Paul with extra grace and strength to compensate.
We all have our own thorns that we suffer with. In some cases the thorn is physical — a pain or disability that is a constant reminder of our weakness. Sometimes it is emotional — depression, anxiety, or a relationship gone bad. Believers can have spiritual thorns, feeling that God is ignoring or punishing them for some reason.
Paul knew without a doubt that God’s power is made perfect in weakness and that enduring his weakness built the strength that allowed him to survive the “insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles” he suffered each and every day.
Contemplate your own thorn, and then pray about how it can refine your abilities to serve God to a greater degree.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer: God, I thank You that Your grace is all I need. Teach me to rejoice in knowing that Your power is perfected in my weakness. Help me to be content in my inabilities so Your limitless abilities may be revealed in my life. I pray that everything I do testifies to Your praise and glory, in Jesus’ name, AMEN.