Thorns In Our Lives
The Apostle Paul was bothered continually by what he said was a thorn in the flesh. Some have guessed this to be some kind of eye ailment that he was suffering from and from which he had never received healing. This interpretation is derived from the book of Galatians, where Paul testifies that the church was willing to pluck out their own eyes and give them to him. (Gal. 4.15) Others have judged it to be the satanic opposition to his ministry. Whatever it was, it was negative and caused him to continually need the grace of the Lord.
Paul saw the need of total dependency on the Lord. This was the key to his ministry. Yet, with the many revelations he had received and the powerful ways in which the Lord had used him to help others, he considered his main enemy to be conceit. To combat this, he concentrated in glorying in his weakness so that Christ could be glorified in him.
As I have studied the life and ministry of Paul, I have seen him again and again referring to his testimony. He was continually conscience of his sin, what he was before knowing Jesus, and at the same time the grace he received in salvation. His message was the cross of Christ and his identity with it. Paul progressively developed his understanding of grace. It didn’t come all at once. Remember, he was a Pharisee of Pharisees. He was proud of his diligence in keeping the law and abstaining from sin, but on the road to Damascus, he was knocked off his high horse.
A little more than 14 years after Paul’s conversion, he writes the letter to the Galatians where he boasts of how he had confronted Peter with his hypocrisy and that the other apostles had added nothing to him. He felt that he was equal to any one of them. (Gal. 2.6, 13) About five years later, he writes to the Corinthians saying that he is the least of all the apostles. (I Cor. 15.9) Then, about three years before his death, Paul confesses to Timothy that he is the foremost of all sinners. (I Tim. 1.15) He learned to glory in his weakness and to take no confidence in the flesh. Thorns are not nice, but they do serve God’s purpose.
The other day, I was awakened in the night by a “thought” from God. I felt the Lord saying, “you cannot have a revelation of grace without a revelation of sin; you cannot have a revelation of blessing without a revelation of the blood; you cannot have a revelation of Love without a revelation of forgiveness; you cannot have a revelation of covenant without a revelation of the cross.”
Jesus said to one young man, “no one is good but God”. I am sure there are things in all our lives that reminds us of our weaknesses, sin and utter need of God’s grace. May we never be “puffed up” to think we are good and that apart from God of some importance or value. In Christ, alone, we have life and that more abundantly.
Scriptures to meditate on:
II Cor. 12.1-10; Eph. 2.7-8; Phil. 3.8; John 10.10; Romans 3.23; 8.26; Mark 10.17-22