PAUL'S THORN

Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” has been the subject of speculation for centuries and I don’t want to add to the debate of what “it” was. I was a little disgusted one morning while watching a teaching program on TV. The speaker commented that if Paul’s knowledge of faith had been as complete as ours is today, he would not have had to suffer with a thorn. My mom would have described the speaker’s assertion as “ignorance wrapped up in arrogance.” What the speaker was saying reflects not just on Paul but on God, who in the speaker’s mind would not or could not give Paul a full revelation on faith.

To get sidetracked into the culvert of “What was Paul’s thorn?” is to diminish the incredible truth that follows: “And He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9a, NKJV).

After Paul had sought the Lord three times and received no healing and no deliverance, God spoke to him: “And He said to me.” God spoke directly to Paul with the message that was one of the most profound truths of the New Testament: “My grace is sufficient for you.”

Grace is His unmerited favor. We can’t earn it but we can receive it as a gift. Salvation is an explicit example of God’s grace. We didn’t deserve salvation but He provided it for us anyway. “For by grace are you saved” (see Ephesians 2:8-9). Healing, provision, deliverance, comfort, safety, guidance (the list here is large) are all manifestations of His grace. We can’t earn them, we don’t deserve them, but we can receive them. That’s grace!

Grace does not begin and end at salvation. The power that began to work in us at salvation continues through our entire life. The power of God in grace continues to work in us and when the storms of life arise, His grace continues to provide for us. It is more than sufficient for whatever we might be facing. Grace is readily available; it is free and like every gift, if it is not received, then it does not work for us.

One of the sadder moments in my life was when I observed a friend who, as he went through a disastrous personal problem, made a conscious choice not to receive God’s grace. Instead of trusting God’s sufficiency, my friend retreated into the familiar territory of his personal desires. In a confrontational conversation about God’s grace, my friend said, “I’m not going to do that. I know what I want and that’s what I’ll do”.

Embracing grace is a step of faith, a step into the unknown. How will God provide His sufficiency for us? We don’t know, but we are given a clue in what the apostle says next.

“For My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

God promised Paul that in the midst of his inability to deal with the weakness that his thorn produced, he would find God’s power. Paul understood that when he harbored illusions about his own strength, that reliance on personal strength diluted the power of God’s working in his life. This is why Paul could say in the very next verse, “When I am weak, then I am strong” (12:10).

The continuance of the thorn in Paul’s life is a mystery to us; it provided ammunition to Paul’s enemies to question his apostolic authority and it overwhelmed Paul with a feeling of weakness. However, Paul came to understand that the thorn kept him humble and reliant on the grace and mercy of God, which in turn released the power of God to sustain and to use him.

Paul finishes verse 9: “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Paul was not pushing a doctrine of false humility, nor was he suggesting that we somehow “get high” on difficulties or persecution. He was affirming that his reliance on his own strength short-circuited God’s power but when he acknowledged his weakness (and the thorn helped him do that) then the power of God rested on him and was released through him.

“For when I am weak, then I am strong!” (2 Corinthians 12:10b).

So, regardless of the circumstances we face—the stress of a faltering economy, the pain of living or working in an uncomfortable environment, the uncertainty of world events, the discouragement over unfulfilled dreams—He says to us,” My grace is sufficient!”

When your strength begins to fade and you realize how pitifully ineffectual it is in the light of life, always remember He is there with you and His strength is just getting warmed up!

Maybe thorns aren’t so bad after all!