Ever encounter that person or thing that is just a thorn in your flesh?
Funny enough, my husband, just a few days ago, told me that no one else could have been my husband, but him, and within those few seconds, I smiled a most blushing smile, which quickly vanished thereafter when he further explained that he is convinced he was placed in my life to annoy me. [pause] Yep, my eyebrows went diagonal, and that blushing smile turned upside down. But then he said something that proved true. He said, he is the only one who, through annoyance, can mellow my stubbornness. I wouldn’t call him a ‘thorn in my flesh’, but he is certainly persistent.
Recently, I revisited 2 Corinthians 12 verse 7; “…in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I [Paul] was given 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.’
Alright, let me break it down. Satan had caused some afflictions to overtake Paul; and trust me, they weren’t easy, small, or welcoming. They were like long, sharp, spiky stakes cutting through the flesh; infirmities, reproaches, necessities, persecutions, distresses. Paul prayed – rather – he pleaded with God to remove them. But God said no. God permitted it to happen; He didn’t remove or take it away. God used it as a way to teach Paul a lesson.
But this is the part that I love the most friends…God also gave Paul a very important truth to remember and to share with others when He said, “My strength is made perfect in weakness.” God’s grace was all Paul needed in order to deal with the thorns.
Yes, Satan has caused you to be going through some stuff which have brought discouragement and defeat in your life. However, God leaves them because He wants you to learn the lesson that His strength is made perfect in your weakness. When you begin to experience Christ’s deliverance, then you, along with Paul, will declare, “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong”.
Can you bring yourself to see the good in your bad situation? You will not be able to see or accept this through the lens of self or human. Pray that the Holy Spirit will show you the reason for your thorn.
So then, if my thorn is to make me better in my Christian walk, then let it pierce away. For I too count it all joy when I fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of my faith produces patience.
After-all, there is no rose without a thorn, and sharp thorns often produce delicate roses.
Merry Melodious Melody
Yes, please comment and share!
Hola😀 let’s send up some praises for the thorns and thistles in our lives, if it wasn’t for them we might have never been so close to God. Psalm 46.helps me to understand that no matter what comes my way, God is my City of refuge.
The thorns in my flesh is overwhelming sometimes I wonder why me but then over the years I’ve learn to Thank God for the thorns even though they pierce me so hard they make me stronger
Look at the beautiful roses you never see roses without thorns we serve an awesome God