A THORN IN THE FLESH

PROCLAMATION

“And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me …. For this I besought The Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.  And He said unto me, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee; for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’  Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”  2 Corinthians 12:7-9 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words were written by the Apostle Paul, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, to the believers in the church at Corinth.  Paul begins this chapter defending his apostleship by boasting about the vision which he was favored with. (2 Corinthians 12:1-5)  Then he states that in order to prevent him from being filled with pride and vanity, he was given a physical ailment which grieved him.  Paul said that three times he asked The Lord God to remove it but the answer to his prayer was “no”.  God told Paul that His grace was sufficient to help him endure it, and that His power was made perfect in his weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:7-9)  Then Paul said that because of that he now delights in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties.  For when he is weak, then he is strong due to the power of God. (2 Corinthians 12:10)

 

APPLICATION

The Lord God hears our prayers. (1 Peter 3:12)  Sometimes we do not get what we ask for because His answer is “no”.  That could be because He has something better planned for us, or because we asked for things which do not glorify God. (John 14:13)  There are times when He allows things to happen to us in order to get our attention.  We tend to pray really hard when times are bad.  We need to acknowledge Him all of the time and in all things, good and bad. (Proverbs 3:6)  We even need to see the silver lining in every storm cloud. (James 1:2)  Bad things which happen to us can work out for our good. (Genesis 50:20 and Romans 8:28)  In all things, we should give God glory.  His grace is sufficient for us.  His power can be revealed through our weakness.  Sometimes we need a thon in our flesh to cause us to focus on Him.