Thorns A couple of weeks ago we asked the question Why? Today we will continue along that same theme with the focus on why God allows His faithful leaders and workers to have problems. The entire Bible is a story of ordinary men and women. These men and women have the same frailties and faults that we have yet, God used them to accomplish the various tasks that God laid out for them. In the old days, heroes were easy to recognize. They wore white hats, capes, or rode on white horses. They were flawless in their morals and behavior. Their strength was accentuated and any weakness was either down-played or never mentioned. Somewhere along the way, heroes were given a little more human dimension. Remember some of those heroes like Charles Bronson in the Death Wish series? How about Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry? There was some debate about the relative good of glorifying evil in the modern-day hero. This debate has faded into thin air. In the Bible, we find heroes like David. David did a lot of good for God and the children of Israel. David was human and failed to live a perfect life. However, David is never shown to turn away from God. Even in his sin, David asked for God s forgiveness and mercy. So, why didn t God make David strong enough to withstand the temptations that he faced? Why doesn t God remove all of the bumps and potholes in the road of life? Especially why not make faithful Christians have an easier life? Perhaps we feel that we are being punished for our short comings or lack of faith. Maybe, if we were more like the apostle Paul God would make our life easier. Well, let s look at what God did for Paul. Our main scripture for today is found in 2 Corinthians the 12 th chapter. We will read the first 10 verses. Before we read, we 1
note that Paul is defending his authority and standing as an apostle. If we read the 10 th and11 th chapters, Paul lays out his case and reminds them that he came and humbly preached Jesus to them and they should never leave the Jesus that Paul presented. Paul speaks of his heritage, hardships, lashings, and deprivation. In short, Paul is almost boasting of his situation. In the 12 th chapter, Paul speaks of the glory of being transported to paradise and the suffering of a thorn in the flesh from which God did not grant a release. Boasting is necessary, though it is not profitable; but I will go on to visions and revelations of (or from) the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows such a man was caught up to the third heaven. And I know how such a man whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak. On behalf of such a man I will boast; but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in regard to my weaknesses. For if I do wish to boast I will not be foolish, for I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me. (2 Corinthians 12:1-6 NASB) Paul does not want to be suffering from I disease. He shifts from a first-person narrative to a third person narrative about being taken up (either in body or spirit) into the third heaven or paradise. He saw things to grand too repeat and too lofty for human understanding. We know that Paul is speaking of himself because as he continues in verse 7 he is talking about the affliction that God gave him. Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger 2
of Satan to torment (or beat) me to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore, I am well content with weaknesses, with insults (or mistreatments), with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NASB) All of the hardships that he had endured; all of the churches he had founded; all of the education he had received are reasons many people could boast. Paul had one more reason-he had been transported to paradise and seen things that we can not comprehend. Left unchecked, this could easily lead Paul into the trap of pride. One of the early Christian writers, Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) wrote: "'Pride is the commencement of all sin' because it was this which overthrew the devil, from whom arose the origin of sin; and afterwards, when his malice and envy pursued man, who was yet standing in his uprightness, it subverted him in the same way in which he himself fell. For the serpent, in fact, only sought for the door of pride whereby to enter when he said, 'Ye shall be as gods.'" Throughout history, many Christian theologians, pastors, and scholars have ranked pride at the top of the list for sins. According to Thomas Aquinas, it is the cause of every sin. G.K Chesterton said, If I had only one sermon to preach it would be a sermon against pride. Aside from the Christian thinkers and writers, Mark Twain wrote: Good breeding consists of concealing how much we think of ourselves and how little we think of the other person. 3
Pride is a dangerous thing. It causes us to belittle God and His will. It causes us to think we are self-sufficient in this universe when we are not. It causes us to think that we are the center of this universe. Pride leads us to do good deeds for selfish reasons. I recently saw a post on Facebook that said: If you want to feed the hungry, do it. If you post it on Facebook, then you are feeding your ego. Pride interferes with God s grace. Consider these two scriptures. First, in James 4:6, we read: But He gives a greater grace. Therefore, it says, GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. (James 4:6 NASB) Then in 1 Peter 5:5-6 we read: You all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time. (1 Peter 5:5-6 NASB) Any and all of us can be adversely affected by pride. We might find that we have contracted that dreaded I disease. When we deny that pride is a possible problem, we are already caught up in the snare of pride. Paul was a great leader, preacher, and pillar of the early church. He was an apostle. We might consider him above the frailties of pride or any other sin, yet he admitted that he needed help in combatting pride. God gave him that help. That help was not in the form that Paul wanted. If Paul needed God s help to reign in the sin of pride, we may need to ask ourselves: Do we need God s help? While Paul was suffering from this thorn, there is an interesting phrase that Paul receives from God: My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness. 4
The Lord Jesus explained to His apostle that My grace is sufficient because power is perfected (or made complete) in weakness. Paul s weakness, in a sense, forced him to fully depend on God. In his weakness, Paul tells us where true power is found. It is not found within us, it is not found in man, it is not found in any doctrine or creed of man, it is found only in the one thing that Paul proudly and unashamedly declared over and over again. We find it in Romans 1: 6. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16 NASB) The power of God as found in salvation will and does allow us to find our victor mentality. What are you talking about? How can you make that leap? Well, Paul had a thorn that interfered with him being able to do things that he wanted to do. God told him that he (Paul) should rely on God s grace for his strength. Paul tells us that God s power is found in salvation (Romans 1:16). This power allowed Paul (even with his thorn) to write in Philippians the 4 th chapter a verse that is so familiar to all of us. Paul lays out that he had enjoyed prosperity and need and learned that the key to surviving is a strong reliance in God. Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through (or in) Him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:11-13 NASB) 5
In that one phrase: I can do all things through (or in) Him who strengthens me, Paul had moved from asking God to remove his thorn to grabbing the victory through recognizing the source of strength is in God and not our flesh. When we allow our thorns to turn us away from serving God, we are not allowing that God is sufficient to do what He has promised or to accomplish the task to which He is leading us. Paul learned how to turn his weakness (or thorn) in to an occasion for boasting. What did Paul say? I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Paul has a message for us as well, there are times when we feel that we are failing due to our health, our age, or maybe our human nature. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians the 4 th chapter these words to encouragement. Therefore, we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NASB) Paul was able to overcome his thorns. The difficulties of life did not rob him of his joy in Christ, nor his confidence. The weaknesses, insults, distresses, persecutions and difficulties he had endured for Christ s sake only served to make him stronger. Paul learned that his strength was not by his own power, but through Jesus. The question for us today is God s grace sufficient for us? 6