"....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."
2 Corinthians 12:7-9
I have often wondered what Paul's thorn in the flesh was.....a bad back? Headaches? Arthritic knee? Does it really matter? It makes him so real to me....him talking about this thorn much like we all have digging into our flesh. Jesus' disciples rarely talked about things like this, but I am convinced God allowed Satan to place that burden on Paul (us), possibly to strengthen him, possibly to help him be a better preacher, better person, better example of God. Wouldn't it be a waste of good paper here in 2 Corinthians if I didn't take that example on myself?
"We miss the lesson when we pick at the thorn.
The enemy would have us be so blind by the pain of the thorn that we can't see the beauty of the rose garden.
Look past the thorn - His grace is enough for the thorn He chooses not to remove."
Wow.
Sometimes.....I feel as though God allows my thorns to
prepare me for a new chapter in my life now that I've caught my breath
from the last chapter. I'm not sure what the next chapter
holds.....more Pain? Hurt? Disease? Death? Truth is, none of us know
what the words on the next page says.....what lies around that next
corner we can't see around....but we do know God is there standing next
to the mess ahead of us. It's scary and although I don't fear the
future.....I want to slow down and approach it cautiously. I want to be
sure my hand is out for Him to grab and walk it out with me.
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