Thank God For The Thorns

2.16.25 2 Corinthians 12:7b–10 (EHV)

7 I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me, so that I would not become arrogant. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that he would take it away from me. 9 And he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, because my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will be glad to boast all the more in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may shelter me. 10 That is why I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For whenever I am weak, then am I strong.

Thank God for the Thorns

James Earl Jones was an actor whose voice was especially renowned. It was used for Darth Vader in the Star Wars series. Did you know that he had a severe stuttering problem growing up? He practically didn’t talk at all from the 1st grade until his freshman year in high school. It wasn’t until his high school teacher had him recite poetry that he was able to start getting a handle on the situation. Don’t you love these types of stories when people have to fight through adversity in order to overcome challenges and conquer them?

In today’s text Paul doesn’t talk about conquering a challenge or overcoming it. He says the opposite, when the obstacle becomes a gift that just won’t stop giving. Paul’s obstacle was a “thorn in my flesh” that wouldn’t go away. There’s some debate as to what that thorn actually was, either bad eyesight or a stutter or something else. In the end, it doesn’t really matter. Whatever it was, he really didn’t like it. He prayed multiple times that God would take it away, but God wouldn’t.

Take a moment to yourself, and think about what that thorn might be for you? Something or someone that continues to make your life miserable . . . something that won’t go away. It could be a boss or an ex. It could be a temptation like alcohol. It could be a bad back or a sleeping problem. It could be a tendency to worry or panic. Something you just can’t get rid of, maybe something that people have made fun of you for or tagged you with.

The problem wasn’t just the thorn with Paul. He said it was being used as “a messenger of Satan to torment me.” When you have a weakness or a thorn it can take on a persona of its own. It says to you, “You’re worthless. You always mess up. You might as well give up. Why would anyone love you? You can’t do anything right.” That’s what Paul seems to be talking about here. But Paul also said that the thorn was actually given by God Himself, almost like a hand wrapped gift. “Here you go Paul.” A thorn with Satan wrapped around it, all for you. “Love, God.” The same thorn can be used differently by two different masters. Satan has it for one purpose. God has it for another.

Think of Jesus’ temptation in the desert for 40 days by Satan. Satan wanted Jesus to fall into sin. Instead, Jesus used those painful temptations as an avenue through which He could conquer Satan and resist temptation in our place, as the perfect human. Think of the cross. Satan used Judas to betray Jesus. He used the teachers of the law to condemn Him to death. He used the Roman government to crucify Jesus. But God used it all to pay for our sins.

Think of how that works with us. The devil loves to rub his nose in our sin and make fun of us for it. He wants to drive us to despair and suicide. But God’s purpose is to take it to its ultimate conclusion, where HE wants us to go - to the cross. This led Martin Luther to say,

when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this: "I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it? For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where He is there I shall be also!"

Luther was boldly defiant about his sin with the devil. It made him claim Christ all the more boldly.

When God wouldn’t remove Paul’s thorn, it seems that Paul tried to figure it out. He said to himself, “If God isn’t going to take this thorn away, then He must have a HIGHER purpose for it. What is it? Paul said it was “so that I would not become arrogant.” Maybe he went back to Joseph in the Old Testament. Whenever the LORD gave him a revelation, he seemed to be more than willing to share it with his brothers and parents, telling them of how they would all bow down to him someday. It seemed to maybe make him a bit arrogant with his revelations. Paul didn’t want that, so he reasoned that this painful thorn in his flesh knocked him down to size.