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Most people dislike being weak or being perceived as such, typically due to pride or vanity. With this attitude, we often see it as a hindrance to our success, a threat to our security, and, in the case of some Christians, an obstacle in our work for God. However, God's perspective on our weakness is significantly different from ours, as the Scriptures make clear. This is especially true in its teachings on the Christian's thorn.
This concept originates with the Apostle Paul's struggles in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. In this passage, the Apostle was struggling with an affliction he referred to as a thorn in his flesh. While he does not explain the exact nature of this thorn, we know from his description in verses 7 and 8 that it was causing him significant torment. In fact, this suffering was so immense that he pleaded with the Lord three times to be delivered from it. However, verses 7 and 9-10 reveal that the Lord denied this request for two important reasons. Specifically, Paul acknowledged that the thorn prevented him from becoming conceited, while the Lord permitted it to allow His power to be perfected in Paul's life. Thus, while Paul was initially desperate to be delivered from his weakness, he humbly accepted God's will in the situation to be used by Him, receive His power, and bring Him glory in it.
Moreover, the thorn in the flesh was not exclusive to Paul; rather, it is a common experience for all believers. This thorn can be one of many things that God allows in our lives. For example, it could be a health issue that makes us physically weak or brings us chronic pain. It could also be an emotional problem that frequently brings us grief or drains our energy. Furthermore, it could be a relational issue with a family member, friend, or someone else we struggle to get along with. In addition, it could be a temptation that our flesh or Satan torments us with. Finally, it could be a sin that we are struggling to break free from. These and other tribulations are common to the Christian experience and can be like a persistent and painful thorn in our flesh.
Fortunately, God always has a perfect purpose for allowing these trials to make us weak in our body and soul. For example, He can use them to humble us, as the Apostle Paul experienced in 2 Corinthians 12:7. As James 4:6 notes how pride places us in opposition to God, He uses our circumstances to give us the humility necessary to acknowledge our constant need to be dependent on Him in all things. Also, God allows thorns in our lives to break our outer man and allow His Spirit to freely flow through us. John 12:24-25 note that as a grain of wheat must die to produce fruit, the Lord uses thorns to break our love for our soul-life, which enables us to choose to live in His new life and produce spiritual fruit. Finally, our thorns prepare us to be fully available for serving God. It is through our weakness in them that our dependence on God's perfect strength, wisdom, and love grows, all of which enable us to be fully surrendered to God and allow His Spirit to fully work in and through us. Thus, God allows our thorns to persist to break our pride, expose our self-love, and prepare us to serve Him.
As the Apostle Paul learned in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, the thorn in the flesh is a necessary and pivotal experience in the Christian's walk. Despite the many forms of weakness and suffering they can bring, these circumstances are used by God to draw us closer to Him in humility, self-denial, and obedience. By accepting God's will in these circumstances and wholeheartedly placing our dependence on Him, we grow from fighting our weakness in our limited power to overcoming it through His perfect strength.
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