“Dealing With Your Thorn In The Flesh”
Lesson # 1
2 Cor. 12:7-10
While we may seek to
live life to the fullest everyday, enjoying what God has given us, the breakthroughs in
our Christian life seldom come when things are going smoothly. God most often chooses the
dark times, - times when are experiencing problems, difficulties and suffering – to
draw us closer to Himself and into a deeper relationship.
Tonight we are going
to begin a new study that will take us through the weeks until the Awana program begins in
the Fall. The title of this series is “Dealing With Your Thorn in the Flesh” and
is suggested by and based on a book entitled “The Thorn In the Flesh” by
R. T. Kendall. [Lake Mary,
Florida: Charisma House, 2004]
In his second letter to the church at Corinth
Paul made what has to be one of the most intriguing statements ever written. (2 Cor. 12:7) “And
lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me,
a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted
above measure.”
The Purpose of the Thorn
Paul’s statement
in this verse has to be one of the most candid of any man of God recorded in Scripture. I
want us to compare two different translations of this verse because in them we see two
different applications of this verse.
In the New King James Version, Paul says
that he was given the “thorn in the flesh” - “lest I be exalted above measure” or
so that others would not put him on some
kind of pedestal and admire him more than they should.
In the New International Version (NIV) on
the other hand Paul says that he was given the “thorn in the
flesh” - “to keep me from becoming
conceited.” His thorn was to counteract his tendency to take himself too seriously. Can
you believe that a man as great as the Apostle Paul admits that he could become conceited?
“Many
of us are far too proud to admit that we are full of pride.”
So which is it, to keep Paul from being
conceited or keep others from admiring him too much? I believe that it was both.
What
was the “thorn in the flesh”?
The word thorn is from the Greek word (okulops)
which mans “splinter, thorn or barb” like
the end of a fishhook. A splinter can be very annoying. Sometimes it’s
hard to get it out, and every time you rub your hand against something you are sharply
reminded that it’s there. Then, if you don’t remove it, it becomes infected, and
swells and what was once a simple little splinter has now become a huge irritation.
Many Bible scholars down through the years
have advanced their own theories of what Paul thorn in the flesh was. Tertullian believed
that Paul’s thorn was pain in ear or in the head.
Chrysostom thought Paul’s thorn was a particular person, an adversary who opposed his work.
Some have said that Paul’s thorn was epilepsy
or some other convulsive attacks; others have said it was reoccurring bouts of malaria. A
very popular view is that it was ophthalmia, because Paul in Galatian 6:11 speaks of a problem with his eyes. Others think that it as attacks of
debilitating depression. Still others think that it was memory of his persecution of the
church prior to being saved.
J. Vernon McGee has an interesting comment
when he says, that “An old Scotch commentator said Paul’s
thorn in the flesh was his wife. Well, I’ll imagine that old Scot was having trouble
at home, and I think he was wrong. I believe that Paul had been married but was a widower.
He wrote lovingly of womanhood, and I think he had once had a wonderful wife. He would not
remarry because he didn’t want to subject any woman to the hardships which he had to
endure .” [ J. Vernon McGee. Thru the
BibleCcommentary – Electronic ed. (Thomas
Nelson: Nashville) ]
All we really know is that this thorn was
something in Paul’s life that would not go away. It was painful, it hurt, and it
seemed as though it was there to stay.
The Holy Spirit in His great wisdom does
not tell us exactly what Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was. Because
he does not identify its exact nature we are enabled to enter into that experience, by
substitute our own “thorn.”
It might be argued
that Paul having a “thorn
in the flesh” need not indicate that we will all have one. That could be
true. But I think most Christians have one.
What may be mine, may
not be yours. For some it is a handicap or disability. It could be, an enemy. It could be
loneliness. It could be unhappy living conditions. It could be a chronic illness or
physical condition. For others it is unemployment or underemploy-ment. But one thing is
certain Paul’s thorn was mainly for Paul and yours is mainly for you.
Just one word of
caution before we proceed don’t
make the mistake of assuming that every trial or nuisance in your life can really be
called a “thorn in the flesh.” With a thorn we almost always talking
about a situation you are locking in and it is not likely to change anytime soon!
Where
did the “thorn” originate?
“…
a thorn in the flesh
was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above
measure.”
Paul says that his thorn was a messenger
Here’s what we do know, When we
Is that not the work of the devil? Does he
not want us to fall away from the faith? But what I love here, is that God uses the Devil
for His own good. Perhaps it is Satan who works the bad things in our lives, but we cannot
blame every illness, and ailment on Satan, after all we are flesh, we are physical. And
the physical perishes. It doesn’t last forever. Our nature alone calls for times of
sickness. But even if it is Satan trying to tear us away from God, it has it’s
purpose. For Paul it was to keep him from
exalting himself. To discourage and conceit.
Ray Stedman writes,
“Now notice that both the Lord and Satan are involved in this together, interestingly
enough. Satan is the instrument the Lord uses. There is a similar scene at the beginning
of the book of Job, when Satan has to appear before the Lord to get permission to afflict
Job and to bring about the terrible session with boils which he had. Yet at the end of the
book God appears alone and says to Job, basically, "I'm
responsible, Job. Any questions?" So you always have this combination of these
two forces. Satan's purpose was to destroy and harass Paul, to make life miserable for
him, as is his purpose in the trials that we have. But God's purpose was to strengthen
him, to humble him and to keep him usable in his hands.” [ Ray Stedman.
“The Ecstasy And The Agony” –
www.pbc.org/dp/stedman/2corinthians/3696]
Sometimes as Christians we have these
mountain peak experiences. Times where we feel that our faith is strong, that we are sure
of our love for God, and His love for us, that we are victorious, and strong. There are
times where we feel as though nothing can tear us away from the love of God. Times when we
feel closer to God than we’ve ever felt.
Unfortunately, those times don’t last,
we wish they would, but they don’t. The reason is that we would become arrogant, and
conceited. We would begin to think that we are perfect. We would become self-righteous,
thinking that we deserve this. But then comes the adversity. We get sick, or the world
floods back into our lives. We experience hardship, and trials.
Prayer
for the Removal of the thorn.
Now whatever this thorn in the flesh was,
Paul did not like it. He went to the Lord about it and he tells us about it in verse
eight. “Concerning this thing I pleaded
with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.”
Paul’s prayer was persistent and it was passionate. When Paul says he prayed three for this thorn to be removed (v. 8), that doesn’t
mean that he casually prayed over this need 3 times and then quit. It doesn’t mean
that he just tacked it on at the end of his breakfast, lunch, and dinner prayers. No, it
says Paul pleaded with God! The word that is translated “pleaded”
is the same word that is used to describe the way that Jairus asked for the healing of his
daughter who was dying (Mk 5:23). It was
same word used to describe how a leper sought healing
from his leprosy (Mk. 1:40). And it was how a servant begged his master for mercy over a debt that he owed so that he would not be
thrown into prison (Mt 18:29). How would you pray if your daughter was dying? How would
you pray if your saw your body being eaten away by leprosy? How would you pray if you were
going to be thrown in prison for an unpaid debt?
Whatever the thorn was, Paul asked the Lord
three times to remove it, and the Lord refused. The Lord heard him the first time and the
second time and the third time. It was not that the Lord did not hear his prayers; it was
that the answer of the Lord was no.
Sometimes we think the Lord has not
answered our prayers and we keep asking because we have not received a “yes”
when he has given us an answer and it was “no.” If He doesn’t give us what
we ask for, we think He has not answered our prayer. But event-ually we are going to
discover that His no was the best possible answer He could have given me.
According to verse nine the Lord
told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you…”
This is a reminder that he still
needed God’s grace, that he would never be perfect while in the flesh.
He said He would not remove the thorn but
that He would give Paul the grace to
bear the thorn. That is the wonderful thing about it all. “My
strength is made perfect in weakness.” It is made perfect in your weakness. When
you are weak, when you have trials, when the ailments of life tear you down, you need me,
and my grace shines. That is why I will not take away your thorn Paul.
Paul understands that life is always going
In other words, it was obvious in Paul’s
ministry that he was so physically weak that the Spirit of God was empowering him. Paul’s
conclusion in verse ten is “Therefore I take pleasure
in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s
sake. For
when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Conclusion
An unknown poet has written:
“Once I heard a song of sweetness as it cleft
the morning air,
Sounding in its blest completeness like a tender, pleading prayer;
And I sought to find the singer whence the wondrous song was born;
Till I found a bird, sore wounded, pinioned by an ugly thorn.
I have seen a soul of sadness while its wings with
pain were furled,
Giving hope and cheer and gladness that should bless the weeping world;
Soon I learned a life of sweetness was of pain and sorrow born,
For that stricken soul was singing with its heart against a thorn!’
You are told of One who loves you, of a Savior
crucified,
You are told of nails that pinioned, and a spear that pierced His side;
You are told of cruel scourging, of a Savior bearing scorn,
And He died for your salvation with His brow against the thorn.
You are not above the Master! Will you breathe a
sweet refrain?
Then His grace will be sufficient when your heart is pierced with pain;
Will you live to bless His loved ones though your life be bruised and torn,
Like a bird that sang so sweetly with its heart against a thorn?
If you have thorns in your life, thank God for the roses of grace that inevitably go with them.
[H.G.B., Our Daily Bread, Friday, February 6 -www.bible.org/illus./2 Cor]