A Thorn in the Flesh

"To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassing great revelations, there was given to me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 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. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:7-10


Have you ever wondered about this 'thorn in the flesh?' I know I have. I won't venture to guess what this 'thorn' was in Paul's life; I will leave that to the theologians. But I do know that God gave us these scriptures because they relate to us! He wanted us to know that this can happen. There can be something that He allows in our lives to keep us humble. To keep us dependent on Him. To remind us of our weakness and our need for His strength. All good things, right? But a thorn!
But isn't THE goal of the Christian life to be one with Jesus? To live In Him? To Abide? To Remain? To be conformed to the image of the Son, Transformed to be like Him in righteousness and holiness? And if this is the goal, why wouldn't we be thrilled beyond all get out that God would give us something (a thorn) that would cause us to press into Him? Why wouldn't we be overflowing with thanksgiving for the struggle He has placed in our lives that really leads us to a deeper knowledge of Him?
It might be pain, or a relationship, or mental illness, or deep loss. Any number of ills that plague so many of us. A thorn.
But can we, like Paul, be thankful for it, this weakness? Boast in it, even? 'For when I am weak, then I am strong."
I think this may be the key to Joy and Contentment. It leads us to the scripture in James:

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
James 1:2

Consider trials JOY? Makes us wonder about James, doesn't it? However, it seems that Paul agrees. And many other writers in the Bible. It seems that the perspective that we should have, is that God allows hard things, sometimes REALLY hard things, in our lives, to make us stronger spiritually IN HIS STRENGTH. The storms of life, the trials, the 'thorns', all bring us to our knees and remind us of our need for the Holy Spirit's residence in our hearts. With Him, we can do all things. Without Him, we waste away. This is the mystery of the Christian life: Christ in us! When He is living His life in us, we are strong. We are faithful, and joyful and thankful. We praise Him and point others to Him. We do all this even when we have a thorn, or are in the middle of a storm. We even praise him for the storm, because we trust Him and we know that He is growing us through the hardships that He allows into our lives.

Rise up and Praise Him! And even thank Him for that 'thorn' today. He loves us. He doesn't leave us alone with our trouble. No! He takes it upon Himself and shares our burden, and then He gives us the peace that can only be had because of his presence.

Thank you, God!