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. 2 Corinthians 12:9

 

Today’s passage comes from Paul’s request of God to remove a “thorn in his flesh”, something that continued to bother him, 2 Corinthians 12: 7-9.

If you evaluate your life, you most likely have a “thorn in your flesh”. Maybe it be a person who irritates you to no end, a financial burden that constantly hovers over you like a dark cloud or a situation that never seems to get resolved. The list is endless and truthfully you probably wish it would simply go away. Why does God allow these painful thorns? Let’s look at a few reasons:

 

1.    We experience God’s grace. Because of Paul’s thorn, he suffered tremendously. Yet, God made it clear that in his weakness, he was strong because of God’s grace. When you look at your suffering as an opportunity for God to strengthen you, it makes the pain have purpose.

2.    Your thorn might be the greatest connection to Jesus. Think about it, when you have an issue, your prayer life is stepped up and you communicate more with Him. Through those countless prayer sessions, you grow in your faith and closeness to God.

3.    Your thorn helps you focus on character and not wants. You might plead for God to remove your thorn, but God wants to transform your character to align with Jesus. Jesus had plenty of opportunities to avoid His thorns, yet, He carried on the will of His Father. With God’s strength, you can do the same as it builds your character.

4.    Your thorn removes pride from your life. When things are good, you have a sense of self confidence, yet that only goes so far. As Christians, we can’t allow ourselves to believe we can do this on our own, we need rely on God to sustain us through life’s thorns.

 

Trust me friend when I tell you, your thorn has a purpose. I’ve got mine, several actually, and they have brought me into a closer and more personal relationship with God. They will do the same for you. Carefully pray that God will sustain you in your weakness, build character in your life, learn more about grace than you ever thought, and remember, if God brought you to it, He will see you through it! God bless!