Thorns
Today I want to share with you another page from my book, Leading From Our Knees. This lesson is about how many of us have an ailment, disability, aggravating pain, failure or broken relationship that nags at us each day and won’t go away.
Even when life seems to be going well, we must nurse a malady or situation that hurts or makes us uncomfortable. We can’t cure it. Medicine and doctors can’t make it go away. Even therapy or exercise will not remove it. In the case of the Apostle Paul; even prayer wouldn’t take it away.
Sometimes God allows our nagging life injuries to keep us humble and reliant on Him. It also reminds us that our own Savior hurt and that service is sacrifice and the pains that go with it, even for a lifetime, will be gone in our eternal reward.
So if you have a thorn in the flesh that just won’t go away and can’t be extracted, today’s lesson is for you! Blessings and enjoy.
Our Thorn In The Flesh
“PHYSICAL AILMENTS AND EARTHLY TRIALS LEAD US CONSTANTLY BACK TO GOD”
“And lest I should be exalted above the measure through the abundance of the
revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to
buffet me.…”
FEATURED SCRIPTURE: 2 CORINTHIANS 12:7
BACKGROUND SCRIPTURES: 2 CORINTHIANS 12:6–10; AND GALATIANS 4:12–15
The apostle Paul performed many great miracles in his day. He was arguably one of the
greatest missionaries of our faith. Yet Paul, for all his power and faith, had his own ailment, or
thorn in the flesh, that would not leave him. Even though Paul bathed his ailment in fervent
prayer to the Lord three times, it was not taken away from him.
Some say his thorn was constant temptation or persecution wherever he went. Some believe
it to have been epilepsy, malaria, recurring headaches, or blindness. Whatever the thorn in the
flesh happened to be, it kept him reliant on the constant power of God as he quietly suffered it
in humility and praise.
Paul was given many revelations of the Kingdom of Heaven. Paul was a repository of the
new theology of the faith and received an abundance of revelations. The thorn in the flesh,
however, tempered this special knowledge, lest Paul become too self-important. The constant
pursuit of Paul by Satan appears to be meant for evil, but in all reality it kept him humble and
longing for the end of the physical journey. Thorns that throb, hurt, and won’t go away are
constant reminders to us of our own frailty.
What is your thorn in the flesh? Leaders of faith often carry the burdens of thorns. These
thorns cause us to constantly seek God’s strength and provision. Is your thorn a physical disability,
depression, or sickness? Is your thorn a wayward family member or friend? Is your thorn a
temptation, addiction, or constant financial challenge? The more effective you become as a
leader of faith and servant of God, the more likely you are to have a life challenge. If you have
prayed for a thorn to be removed from your life and it won’t go away, you may have Paul’s thorn
in the flesh.
Give your thorn to God today. If He will not remove it, pray that He helps you to endure it.
Use your thorn as a constant reminder that you are chosen for a heavenly leadership task and
that your weakness is His strength. This life’s journey in comparison to eternity is short. The
throbbing of your thorn in the flesh will not last long. Let God work through your thorns so that
others can experience the grace of the living Lord.
Our Prayer: Lord, we give thanks for Paul and all the heroes of our faith. Paul endured pain and
persecution for the Gospel’s sake. You chose us to be Your servants and to lead others in faith. We, too,
will experience persecution and thorns in the flesh of this life. If You will not remove our thorns, give
us the strength to endure them and use the pain to to serve You in a new and powerful way. Amen.