“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 weakness, so that the power of Christ can work through me.”
2 Corinthians 12: 8-9
The Apostle Paul briefly talked about having a thorn in his side. Although neither he nor the Bible offer specifics about what it was that was ailing him, it’s apparent that the pain he was enduring was significant enough to become a hindrance to his ministry, and so he asked God for help. Not once, not twice, but three times Paul begged for the pain to be removed.
And yet, God chose not to heal Paul.
When we encounter trials and suffering in this life, we are moved to ask God to intervene, just like Paul did. But when God refuses to take away our thorns (as He did with Paul) our reaction is usually far different than Paul’s. “God isn’t pleased with me” or “God is punishing me” or “God doesn’t care about me” is our initial reaction.
But Paul’s attitude expresses something far different than resentment and bitterness toward God. Paul essentially thanks God for not healing him, because it gives him an opportunity to reveal God’s strength and character to others when they encounter suffering and hardship.
Friend, perhaps there’s a thorn in your side today that God has chosen not to remove. Just know that it doesn’t mean that He doesn’t love and care about you. It means He has placed enormous trust in you to serve Him and to magnify His Son, Jesus Christ, despite whatever the hardship might be.
He knows that in all things and in all seasons, you are faithful to Him in this life. And because of your faithfulness to Him in this life, He will be faithful to you in the life to come.
Former Blackout Artist 