"Dealing With A Thorn"

"And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure." 2 Corinthians 12:7

Did you notice that the apostle said, "there was given to me a thorn in the flesh"?  That means it didn't just happen to him, it wasn't just the devil deciding to attack him, it was given, it had to come from somewhere.  It came from God-- or rather from His permission. 

This goes against the grain with most Christians.  But look at Job.  God brought up the subject of Job to the devil.  God pointed out the hole in the hedge that was around Job.  God removed the hedge in that area.  Also the Bible says that God uses good and evil for His purposes.  I am not saying that God did it, caused it or brought it on him, but He did allow it.  The enemy cannot touch you unless he goes through God first.

The point I am getting to is this:  There are times when we are going through something and we rebuke it, we pray for God to remove it, we quote scriptures at it, we fast for it to leave but it doesn't.  It is because God has allowed this thing to be present in our life.  Why?  In Paul's case he had seen things that it wasn't lawful for a person to even speak about.  He had had an abundance of revelations.  He had been taken into the third heaven.  The Lord allowed this thorn to keep Paul from getting exalted with pride.  It was for Paul's own good.  It was for his well-being.  Pride goes before a fall.  The bottom line why God allowed it is because of His great love.  He did not want to see this destroy Paul so He allowed a means to keep that from happening.

Even though God did not remove it from Paul.  He made him a promise-- My grace is sufficient and My strength will become perfect in your weakness so you can endure it.  Remember this for your own life when you are dealing with a "thorn in the flesh", if God doesn't remove it for you, then rest assured that He will be with you, strengthen you and give you grace to endure it as well.

Have a great day.  If you have a thorn in the flesh, God will give you the grace and strength to endure it. 

For further reading:

Job 1:8-12
Proverbs 16:4
Romans 8:28

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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell

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