The Gift Of The Thorn

INTRO

If we took an inventory of everything that we say in our prayers, we would likely find that the vast majority of our prayers fall into one of two simple prayers. The first category is the “Gimmie” prayer.

You know the “gimmie” prayer well. “Lord, gimme that parking spot right up front. And if it’s not too much to ask, could it be in the shade?” “Lord, gimme the patience to deal with my in-laws this holiday season.” We pray, “Lord, give me a promotion, give me a break, give me a sign that I'm on the right track.” That’s the “gimmie prayer.”

And then there's the second category, and it is, “Lord, take it away.” “Lord, take away this headache before my big meeting.” “Lord, take away this traffic, for I am a righteous person with important places to be.” We pray, “Lord, take away this terrible season my favorite sports team is having.”

Now, I want to focus on the second kind of prayer we often pray.

“Lord, take it away.”

The “it” varies. For some of us, it is a chronic illness. For others, it is a financial struggle. The it might be a difficult marriage. It might be the profound burden of a child who is breaking your heart with their choices. It might be the memory of trauma, the shame and guilt of a past or ongoing sin.

The it is our weakness. Our struggle. Our weakness. It is our thorn. And our most natural and human prayer is, “Please, God. Make it stop. Fix it. Remove it. Take it away.” We believe that our lives would be better, that our faith would be stronger, that our service to God would be more effective, if only God would remove this one, persistent, painful weakness. We see this limitation as a problem to be solved.

But what if we’re wrong? What if our perspective is completely upside down? What if I told you that the very thing you are begging God to take away is the primary tool He is using to shape you and show His power through you? What if the thing you see as your greatest weakness is, in fact, God’s greatest gift to you?

This is the big idea that I want you to take away today: Sometimes the greatest gifts God gives us are the weaknesses we would never choose for ourselves.

This is the path we see in our text this morning in 2 Corinthians 12. Here, in one of the most personal and vulnerable passages in all of Scripture, Paul reveals his highest spiritual experience and his deepest, most agonizing pain. And in the collision between the two, he uncovers a truth that has the power to change not just how we view our suffering, but how we view our God– that sometimes the greatest gifts God gives us are the weaknesses we would never choose for ourselves.

BACKGROUND

Now, before we can understand why Paul had to say what he said, we have to understand the messy and complicated situation that forced Paul to write it. This is the second letter to the Corinthians, which we discovered, so there are several letters written to the Corinthian church. And in all of them, there was some sort of conflict or problem that happened in the church. Paul is writing this letter because his relationship with the church he founded has been poisoned. A group of rival preachers or leaders has infiltrated the church, and they are on a campaign to discredit Paul, his authority, and his message.

Paul sarcastically calls these men the “super-apostles.” I imagine that they would be slick, charismatic, celebrity pastors of their day. These so-called “super-apostles” were polished speakers. They were impressive. They likely traveled with letters of recommendation (wonderful Google reviews), boasting of their spiritual experiences, their visions, and their insights. They operated by the world’s standards of success. To them, power was found in prestige, in charisma, and in financial success. They probably charged the Corinthians for their preaching, implying that their message was a premium product, while Paul, who preached the Gospel at free of charge, was an amateur.

And their primary strategy was to attack Paul at his weakest points. They looked at Paul and they saw a man who was, by their standards, a failure. They mocked his speaking ability, saying in chapter 10, verse 10, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.” These super-apostles pointed to his constant suffering—his beatings, shipwrecks, poverty, and imprisonments—as clear evidence that God’s blessing was not on him. After all, if Paul was a true apostle, wouldn’t God protect him from such hardship? Wouldn’t God give him a more powerful, impressive presence?