Have you ever had one of those “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad “days? Of course, we have had plenty of them. When I am struggling, hurting, broken and battered by life it helps me to read of Paul’s struggles that he recounts in 2 Corinthians 12. He was beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, imprisoned, and suffered many other hurts and stresses. In the book of Acts, you see that it was often a “riot” to hang around with Paul...literally.
On top of all of this Paul was afflicted with a “thorn in the flesh”. We don’t specifically know what this “thorn” was, and really, it doesn’t matter. It was some limitation that caused struggle, frustration, and a seeming impediment to more fully pursuing his mission to spread the Gospel. So he begged God multiple times to take it away. And God’s answer was………“No.”
God explained in 2 Cor. 12:9 that His grace was enough. Enough for what Paul truly needed. So, if God’s grace was sufficient for Paul (in good and hard times both), then it is sufficient for you and me as well. It may not feel like it, but it is true.
The presence of God is better (by FAR!) than the absence of pain. Actually, pain and struggle can remind me of my limits and my total need for God. Whatever your “thorn in the flesh” is, entrust it to God and constantly remember that His grace is enough. Then you, like Paul, can say, “So when I am weak, then I am strong.”
On top of all of this Paul was afflicted with a “thorn in the flesh”. We don’t specifically know what this “thorn” was, and really, it doesn’t matter. It was some limitation that caused struggle, frustration, and a seeming impediment to more fully pursuing his mission to spread the Gospel. So he begged God multiple times to take it away. And God’s answer was………“No.”
God explained in 2 Cor. 12:9 that His grace was enough. Enough for what Paul truly needed. So, if God’s grace was sufficient for Paul (in good and hard times both), then it is sufficient for you and me as well. It may not feel like it, but it is true.
The presence of God is better (by FAR!) than the absence of pain. Actually, pain and struggle can remind me of my limits and my total need for God. Whatever your “thorn in the flesh” is, entrust it to God and constantly remember that His grace is enough. Then you, like Paul, can say, “So when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Jon K. Smith
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