To Encourage You

2 Corinthians 12:7 “a thorn was given me in the flesh.”

We’ve all had an actual thorn in our flesh at one time or another, or maybe a splinter, or perhaps a speck of dirt in our eye.  Inevitably, when we discover something like that it does several things to us. One, it redirects our attention. Whatever we might have been doing, whenever that irritation rears its head, it causes us to stop what we were doing, or at least slow down a little, and deal with that thing.  The reason is that thorns and splinters hurt. They demand our attention. They cause us to do some things that we’d rather not, like digging that thing out or taking our shoe off to see where that thing is instead of just going on our merry way.  That’s what a “thorn in the flesh,” as mentioned above by the apostle Paul, does as well, but in a spiritual sense. 

Here, Paul was talking about some major irritation in his life that he would have done anything to have removed. It doesn’t tell us what it is, other than “a messenger of Satan to buffet me.”  How strange that God would allow Satan to have an opening into this godly man’s life to bring irritation and pain.  But it had a purpose. Of course, Satan’s purpose is always “to kill, steal, and destroy” (John 10:10). Satan’s objective at the cross as he motivated Judas in his betrayal and tempted all the others who had a hand in Jesus’ death, was to once and for all rid the world of the Son of God.  However, greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4), and the “He that is in you,” if you are a Christian, is that very same Son of God.  And the reason He is “in you” is that He endured the cross and was victorious over it, thus turning what Satan meant for evil into something very, very good (Genesis 50:20). 

It’s always that way for the believer.  Every “thorn,” every irritant, every obstacle, God allows for our good.  So often such things cause us to slow down, take stock of some things, and go in a different direction that we otherwise would have.  Sometimes that other direction is the very thing that prevented us from much worse things that would have entered our lives if not for the thorn. In Paul’s case, it was conceit.  This thorn kept him from this very destructive sin, a sin that could have rendered Paul ineffective in the ministry of the gospel.  Perhaps we’ve been given a thorn is meant to do the very same thing in our own life. Of perhaps it’s God’s way of giving us a much stronger faith.  Maybe it’s meant to put us in a position where we can help others that are going through the very same thing. Often, it is such thorns that enable us to empathize with others and minister to them at a much deeper level than we otherwise could have.  Whatever the “thorn,” always remember that it is a gift from God.  And it is a good gift, as is every other gift the Lord gives.  That’s true even when – or perhaps, especially when – things don’t look too good at all.

The Lord is our shepherd, and He’s a very good shepherd.  He’s a shepherd who keeps constant watch over His sheep, including when, and perhaps especially when, the lion prowls around seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5;8).