By Wes Morris
We sometimes use the phrase, “a thorn in my side.”
It’s the nagging problem, difficult person, or ever-present challenge.
Do you feel that you have a thorn in your side?
In the Bible, a man named Paul was mightily used by the Lord. He preached the Gospel, prayed for people who were healed, witnessed a dead man raised to life, and received a vision of Heaven. At the same time, he said that a thorn in the flesh had been given to him.
Paul prayed three times that God would remove whatever the thorn was, but the Lord told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”
While God could have removed the thorn, He allowed it to remain so that Paul would trust in grace to sustain him rather than in the relief that would come from its removal.
But why? What other purpose did the thorn serve for Paul, and perhaps even for you today?
Paul said that the ultimate purpose of the thorn was “to keep me from exalting myself.”
It is difficult to admit that our hearts are prone to arrogance when blessings come our way. Some may be more vulnerable to this temptation than others.
Whatever the case may be for you, I encourage you to consider that the thorns you endure in this life may be the very thing preventing your heart from succumbing to the poison of pride.
So yes, we can ask God to remove them. Sometimes He does. Other times, we may do best to embrace our thorns as a kind of preservative that keeps our souls humble enough to carry the blessings God pours into our lives.
The greatest blessing of all is that God sent Jesus to set us free from the curse of sin and the captivity of death. Jesus became our sin, shame, guilt, and unrighteousness. He paid the debt for our souls on the cross.
He rose from the dead, proving that He has the power to give us victory over death and grant eternal life.
We receive this life by faith. If you have never found true peace and forgiveness, I urge you to take a moment and call upon the Lord Jesus. Ask Him to redeem your weary heart and save your soul.
God bless you.
Wes Morris has served as pastor at The Rock Church of Fenton since 2007. He is passionate about preaching the good news of the gospel and seeing people find peace with God through simple faith in Jesus Christ. In addition to preaching most Sundays at The Rock Church in Fenton, Michigan, he travels throughout the USA and to other countries, wherever there is an opportunity to preach the gospel.
