Behind the Thorn

This week I've been digging into Paul's thorn, that thing he begged God three times to remove, and God's answer back to him.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

2 Corinthians 12:9

I feel like this is a message for us too, and maybe an answer to the very thing we've been asking God about.

What I mean is, we pray for God to remove certain things from our lives, and sometimes it feels like He's not answering. But what if He already has? What if the answer isn't the removal of the thing, but something hidden inside the suffering itself?

Take your situation, for example. Behind the sickness, the political outcomes that have you unsettled, the relationship difficulties, the work problems, the physical or emotional wound, God is there. Not just aware of it. Present in it.

Paul didn't get the thorn removed. He got something else instead, a promise that God's grace would be enough to carry him through it. And then Paul did something that still surprises me every time I read it. He said he'd boast all the more gladly about his weaknesses, so that the power of Christ could rest on him.

That's the hidden message. Not "this will go away," but "my strength shows up best right here, in the place you wish was different."

If you're being tested and tried right now, remember that the source of your frustration is temporary. This too will pass. But inside this situation, right now, there's a divine message, full of love and full of grace. I pray the Holy Spirit helps you discover it today.

My own thorn, this cancer, is still here. It hasn't gone anywhere. But it's shown me a depth of His grace I don't think I ever would have found without it. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. But I wouldn't trade what it's taught me, either.

Be Nice. Grace Wins.

FMJ