Thorn in the Flesh

To keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Cor 12:7-10).

Paul never says exactly what the thorn in the flesh was. Scholars have conjectured that it was something physical like an eye problem or a speech problem. Fine. Doesn't really matter. What does matter is that I suspect (very strongly) that we all have thorns in the flesh, things that constantly point to our own weaknesses, things that require us to constantly go to the throne of grace, failing and resting on the only strength available -- His.

We have a term for it: "besetting sins". We all have them. Maybe it's alcohol or drugs. Maybe it's porn or just plain lust. Maybe it's greed or anger. Maybe it's pride or ... well, I'm sure you've come up with your own by now. If you are one that does not have such a thing, I'd like to suggest that yours might be lying or ignorance or apathy, because no one has "arrived".

These sins are troubling. That was an understatement. You fight against it and you find yourself doing it and you hate it afterward and you wonder what's wrong with you and why can't you stop and ... the cycle continues. Being born of God, you have the seed of God in you, so you abhor sin (as opposed to embracing and defending it). You look for a program, a plan, a method to work out of this sin. Someone may even offer a 12-step system or some such, but it's not the fix.

The Scripture gives the fix. It's really just a two-step program. 1) "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." 2) "For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities." There, see? Simple. Okay, not simple. But straightforward. Rely wholly on God's power, and recognize that your problems, when placed in God's hands, bring glory to God. Certainly not easy. Definitely a life-long process. And none of us actually break free of all besetting sins this side of heaven. Still, it really is a pretty good system to start working with, isn't it?

I know ... what you'd really like is a cure. God calls us to a relationship. Relationships are not systematic or simple. They're dynamic. And they're worth it.