Tuesday, October 25, 2022

            Splinters can be aggravating and annoying.  And so too can briers and thorns.  Paul suffered with something he called “a thorn in my flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7).  We do not specifically know what the thorn was that afflicted Paul.  It could have been some physical illness or discomfort.  And, frankly, knowing the answer would not make that much difference to us.  Perhaps, God led Paul to conceal the identity or nature of the thorn so we could apply the truths He has for us to see to our situations when we face “thorns” in life.  If Paul had named the thorn, we might miss the way God’s grace can be experienced when we deal with thorns. 
            Paul said that he prayed three times and “pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me” (2 Corinthians 12:8).  Maybe you have had some situations in your life, thorns if you will, where you prayed for God to remove them.  There are certainly times where we pray and God does not answer the prayer as we prayed it or as we might have wished.  But God did give Paul an answer.  The Lord did not ignore Paul.  Paul wrote, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).  Rather than removing the thorn, the Lord gave Paul the grace to handle the thorn and whatever outcome might result from the thorn.  And God gave Paul a testimony that he could freely share and proclaim.
            The lesson for us to see is the reality of “sufficient grace.”  When God does not act in ways that we request, we are not to be too quick to suggest that He hasn’t answered us or that He’s forgotten us.  The answer is often the gift of sufficient grace.  God does occasionally allow us to go through trials, thorns and testing.  Jesus was tested and tempted by Satan.  Job suffered through significant trials.  John was exiled to Patmos as he approached his latter years.  In those times of testing, we rely on grace to see us through.
            Thorns can teach us something about God.  Thorns can introduce us to grace like we have never experienced.  Thorns can turn our attention away from ourselves and toward the Lord.  Thorns can keep us humble and relying totally and fully on God for daily needs and even the big needs that come along at times.  Those thorns can always be met with grace.  Honestly, at times, thorns are necessary to break through the stubbornness and hard-headedness we can all be guilty of suffering.  I know that more than once God has convicted me of stubbornness.  Thorns often direct us to see God more clearly and to hear Him more intently. 
            Paul said that this thorn he dealt with and the grace that the Lord supplied gave him the opportunity to boast about God’s greatness or to brag about what the Lord has done.  We often brag about accomplishments, our kids, our favorite team’s championship and many other things.  But do we brag about what the Lord has done?  Do we brag about what God has given to us?  Do we brag about the way the Lord has seen us through a trial or a thorny situation?  Paul said that he would boast about his weakness so that the power of Christ would rest upon him.  May we be the same way.  May we speak more about our weaknesses and thorns so that we have the occasion to brag about God’s grace and magnify His power and His goodness.  We often sing that we love to tell the story.  What story could you sing or tell about the Lord?  Where has His grace been sufficient for you?  What thorn has His grace enabled you to endure? Be courageous and boast in the Lord!  Have a great Tuesday.  Worship with us and invite others to worship at youtube.com/FirstBaptistKannapolis.