2 Corinthians 12:7-10. The Thorn in Our Flesh

Prayer: God, today I am in the spotlight. I have been given the opportunity to speak to your

people and I pray to do a good job with the message you have laid on my heart. Be with me as I

speak and touch all who are hurting with the thorn in their flesh. Keep me focused on you and on

the insight I have to share in your name Amen.

The New Kings James Version of 2 Corinthians 1:7-10 reads. And lest I should be exalted above

measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger

of Satan to buffet me, let I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the

Lord here time that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,

for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” 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 need, in persecution and in distress for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak then I

am strong.

The Good News Version makes it a little easier to understand because it reads: But to keep me

from being puffed up with pride because of the many wonderful things I saw, I was given a

painful physical ailment, which acts as Satan’s messenger to beat me and keep me from being

proud. Three times I prayed to the Lord about this and asked him to take it away. But His answer

was, “my grace is all you need for my power is greatest when you are weak.” I am most happy

then to be proud of my weakness in order to feel the protection of Christ’s power over me. I am

content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecution and difficulties for Christ’s sake. For

when I am weak then I am strong.

Job who was blameless and upright experienced pain because of Satan’s attack. Paul and Silas

sang and prayed while in pain and the result was their deliverance and the salvation of their

jailer’s household (Acts 16:23-25). Christ walks with us through our painful times. The

sufficiency of His grace is enough.

To understand the sufficiency of His grace we first must experience a thorn in the flesh. A thorn

in the flesh is a chronic infirmity, an annoyance, an addiction or any type of trouble or problem

in your life. Paul prayed three times, he begged God to take the thorn away, however God in His

infinite wisdom saw fit not to remove the thorn instead giving Paul grace to sustain him. This

destroyed Paul’s pride and kept him dependent on the divine power of God. No one knows what

Paul’s thorn was, it could have been anything.

How many of us including me have had a bad time or an illness where we prayed for God to help

us or a child in school praying for a good grade on a test? I was diagnosed in January of this year

with stage 3 colon cancer. I had a colon resection January 4 and had the first chemo treatment

February 8. Three days every other week I have chemo and now am on the ninth of twelve

treatments. This is the thorn in my flesh. Like Paul I have begged and pleaded with God to take it

away but God said no, “my grace is enough, I will be with you during this. Trust me.” Then I

remembered Philippians 4:13 I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ

gives me, in the Good News Bible and in the New International Version it says I can do all this

through him who gives me strength.

When I first found out about the thorn in my flesh the first thing I asked the doctor was what

about my hair, my family thought I was crazy or that I had not heard what the doctor had said. I

heard and understood but I was not worried about the cancer because I had the faith to trust God

to remove it or sustain me with His grace, to humble me in my weakness to make me strong.

Many have told me they were praying for me however there was one who I really didn’t know

who said to be careful of who prays for me because they could be praying to the Father of lies

and darkness instead of the Father of truth and light. I had never thought of that. This person

went on to say that this is what makes us blame God and have negative thoughts. Once I thought

about it, it made perfect sense. Negative thoughts and blaming God for our thorns.

God did not give me my thorn and He did not give any of you no matter what it may be the thorn

in your flesh.

God did not give me my thorn and He did not give any of you no matter what it may be the thorn

in your flesh.

Whatever your thorn is it is a messenger of Satan sent to torment you, just look at Job, he had it

all, family, riches, servants he had everything. Satan went to a meeting with the angels as they

presented themselves to the Lord, picture a board room where all of them are seated at a table

discussing God’s creations, Satan told God that he could make Job curse God. Everything Job

had was taken from him, his family, his riches, his servants, everything, he even developed

painful boils on his body, Satan not God caused all of Job’s sufferings but Job kept his faith and

everything was restored to him.

We need to be like Job and Paul, depend on God for everything in every situation because HIS

GRACE IS SUFFICIENT no matter what the thorn in our flesh might be. The next time you

have a thorn in your flesh just remember what Paul said and know that His grace is sufficient to

you.