Thorns in the Flesh
I remember as a child I used to go blackberry picking with my father in the hot and humid South Carolina heat, so that he could make his blackberry pies. If you know about blackberry patches then you will know they have thorns and lots of them. Many times my little fingers would feel the pain of blackberry thorns and for those that can relate to the pain of thorns, you will know that they don’t feel nice.
The Apostle Paul wrote about thorns in 2 Corinthians. He suffered with a physical thorn of some sort. Theological commentaries believe that he suffered from blindness, due to his bright encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road, because when you look at his epistles the print is quite large. Whatever his thorn- his ailment- he pleaded with God to remove it, but God would not.
“…even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.
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. ”
In life, we all have thorns- our hindrances, our blackberry wounds. In the words of Ethel Kennedy, who is a part of a family that has had their share of thorns: “Nobody gets a free pass in life of challenges. Nobody.”
For some, it may be constant family problems, for some it might mean an addiction or temptation to go back to the addiction, for others it may seem like it’s always challenging to make ends meet financially, for one it may mean living with a physical ailment that won’t go away, or for another it may mean having a difficult coworker or boss. There are endless possibilities but everyone has a thorn.
Why does God allow thorns?
Now, God doesn't cause thorns. They're here because of sin and He allows them because He has a greater plan and one day there will be no more thorns. But, they keep us humble. That coworker or boss that’s always starting problems, challenges us to be the bigger more mature person. That addiction that someone has or once had keeps them looking to Jesus for strength to get through the urges. That physical ailment keeps us reliant on God through the pain and endless doctor visits.
For the person that finds it hard to make ends meet, they constantly have to trust of God, and are expectant of His economic miracles in their lives. And, it forces them to budget so that they won’t go hungry. But, there is a beauty in not having much money. Having little money will force people to be creative, where they will have to constantly come up with ideas to cut corners to keep the lights on. To give an example- there's fun in staying in a motel, where you might meet some cool people in a more personal way. Whereas, if you stay in a 5-star hotel, because money is not an issue for you, you might miss out on a richer travel experience.
“My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”
And, for the person who feels like they have ongoing family drama, God is keeping them humble like the person with the challenging work relationships. People like this get to experience and value the gift of friendships, because friends might be the only true family they will have in this life.
In our thorns that God will not remove, His grace is sufficient and He will always be there.
He knows the burdens that we face with our thorns because He allowed them to come, and He wants us to lean on Him for support and for strength. Our thorns cause us to draw close to God and to trust Him. And when we reach that beautiful shore, where the thorns of this world will be no more, we will forever live in perfection and continuous joy.
So be strong and rejoice in your thorns, for He is near.
Happy Friday xoxx!