“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.”
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NLT
Is there any benefit in continuing to speculate about Paul’s thorn in his flesh? In a previous blog, we considered some of the possibilities, referring to Scriptures that might have provided a hint or two. We considered his sight, or a tremble, but the description of a “thorn in the flesh” implies a bit more of a physical affliction, perhaps one that is painful or debilitating in another way. Perhaps Paul had some form of mental illness, such as depression, which is a terrible place to be. There is a hint of this in 2 Corinthians 1:8, “We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it”. It may have been another person, causing him constant grief, and there are several examples of this, such as in 1 Timothy 1:20, “Hymenaeus and Alexander are two examples. I threw them out and handed them over to Satan so they might learn not to blaspheme God”. Lastly, some scholars think that Paul was battling with a specific sin, basing their thoughts on what he wrote in Romans 7. But we have to admit that, in the end, we do not know what Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was. And it is perhaps just as well, because if we knew the specifics, it could become something people could have blamed ever since for their spiritual state, even presenting themselves as “super-spiritual” and boasting about it.
The Lord’s response to Paul, every time he pleaded for it to be taken away, was “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness”. And that’s the thing, because it’s all about doing God’s work in His strength, not in our own. We pilgrims have a tendency to battle on in our own strength whenever burdens and obstacles get in our way on our journeys to Glory. Perhaps we experience some difficulty in a relationship or suffer a setback at work. The car breaks down, and we are facing an expensive bill. All situations that are not unusual, but instead of looking to God for a remedy, we jump through mental hoops trying to fix the problem in our own strength. Paul discovered that whenever something got in his way, God had the solution to his problem. His “thorn in the flesh” was an ever-present reminder of God’s strength and his weakness.
Paul went even further than just being reminded of the power of God. He took pleasure in his weaknesses, “in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that [he suffered] Christ”. His affliction was a constant reminder that God was with him, whatever he was facing, and, let’s face it, Paul had to face some horrendous situations.
We pilgrims spend too much time living our lives without giving God and His power a second thought, or is it just me? There is so much we take for granted. The basics we receive for life just don’t receive a second thought. We live in our warm homes, enjoying a meal, a warm and soft bed, but do we take time to thank God for His provision? Do we give any thought to those who are homeless, who are hungry, persecuted and in distress? And then when problems do come our way, is the first port of call the doctor’s surgery, or the bank manager? We pilgrims are weak and helpless, when it comes to many things we find in this life, and too often we forget that God is all-powerful and we are all-weak. He is a loving Heavenly Father, who has set a course before us in this life and we must never forget that in our weakness we are yet strong through His power that is within us. Paul wrote, “For when I am weak, then I am strong”. It is the spirit-filled life that he described, and the one that we should be following.
Dear Heavenly Father. Please forgive us for the times when we fail to offer our thanks for Your provision. For the times when we do things in our own strength rather than looking to You. You are the almighty God, but we are overwhelmed that You would adopt children like us. Thank You. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 