59. PAUL’S THORN AND YOURS 2 Cor 12;7.

Bible scholars disagree as to what exactly Paul’s thorn in the flesh was. Some think it may have been poor eyesight, others a speech impediment, and still others a physical challenge. Why doesn’t The Bible tell us? Well, if the problem was poor eyesight, then a number of us could say that doesn’t help us because we have 20/20 vision. If it was a speech impediment, those with the gift of comfort wouldn’t find comfort in his words. If it was a physical challenge, those with good health could think they were exempt. The reason The Bible doesn’t tell us may be this; No matter what your particular affliction or struggle may be, the same God who gave Paul victory, will give you and me victory as well. Have you got a person in your life you might describe as a ‘thorn in your flesh,’ (come on be honest)? What is the thorny situation you face day after day at work? You can have a thorny relationship with someone who needs extra grace, love and prayer, that’s why Peter writes, “Grow in grace and in the knowledge of Our Lord Jesus.” (2 Peter 3;18) Each of our thorns is different, because God customises them to our need. Why? So that we will “Grow in grace, God is more interested in our character than in our comfort, so sometimes when we pray for lighter burdens, He gives us stronger backs. The songwriter said “He gives more grace when the burdens grow greater, He gives more strength when the labours increase, to added affliction He adds His mercy, To multiplied trials, His multiplies peace,” Although the Bible doesn’t tell us what Paul’s Thorn in the flesh was, Paul himself tells us why God permitted it “To keep me from becoming proud” (2 Corinthians 12:7), increased achievement and success can lead to increased pride and independence from God. Have you noticed that when life is going great, staying close to God is sometimes more difficult? We tend to think, God is so good to us, because we are so good to Him. This is something we must always be aware of and be careful we don’t go down the road of Presumptuous familiarity. We must always guard against this and keep God on His throne; where there is only room for one. God can use anything for our good and His Glory, In His wisdom and patience, He permits something we think is intended to hurt us, but He turns it around and uses it to help us. Here is what He does; He balances blessings with burdens. In (Psalm 68:19) the Psalmist says “Blessed be The Lord Who daily loads us with benefits” If God filled our hands only with blessings, eventually we would fall over on our faces: and if He continually loaded our backs with burdens, we would fall on our backsides. So He apportions blessings and burdens so that we can remain balanced. It’s easy to get out of balance. We get so absorbed with the joys of Heaven that we neglect our calling to be salt and light here on earth. We get so involved in the work of the Lord that we fail to spend time with the Lord of the work. We sometimes get so involved with church that we rob our families of the love and attention they need. So God brings us back in to balance by permitting the thorn in our life. Paul writes; “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). Paul didn’t get the answer he was looking for until he stopped asking and started listening. Sometimes we are so busy telling God what He ought to do for us, that we can’t hear God telling us what He wants to do for us. If you have a stubborn problem in your life, maybe it’s time to stop talking and start listening. God taught Paul lessons at the best time he could hear them – during difficulties. So the bad news about tough times turned out to be the good news after all – That we learn more about God in the valley than we do on the mountaintop. C. S. Lewis describes how God uses pain to communicate with us; “God whispers to us in our pleasures, He speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts to us in our pain.” Before God spoke, all Paul wanted was his problem to be removed. After God spoke he realised that in his problem he had found something better and greater – supernatural strength reserved for those tough times when we realise God’s presence is greater than our problems and His purpose is greater than our pain. That’s how we can see God’s almighty power and strength revealed through our very own weaknesses. Thank you for reading about Paul’s “Thorn in his flesh” and how he handled it. We all have at least one, and some more than others, Don’t try to fight it, talk to Our God and listen, and in your weaknesses He will speak to you saying “In your weakness I will be your strength, In your darkness I will be your light and in your sorrow I will be your joy. May Almighty God bless us, Jesus stand with us and The Holy Spirit guide and protect us forever. Phaline.