Thorns in Our Flesh

Sometimes, there are times when we just look to the Lord and with full exhaustion, ask Him why He is allowing the thorn in our flesh to exist. It happened to me recently. Or shall I say, rather, it's been there, I just finally heard Him directing me to specific scripture to help me understand why it was there in the first place. I didn't know it was technically a "thorn" until one evening, while sitting on the couch, frustrated and angry at this "thorn" did I speak it out loud....."Lord, this is just like a thorn in my side that won't go away. I don't want it there anymore....." And so the conversation began....

He almost immediately led me to  2 Corinthians 12:7-8, "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 of Satan to torment me-to keep me from exalting myself! v8) Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me." Because of the abundance of revelations that Paul was given, God gave him a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to continually buffet him so pride would not take place. To buffet means to strike with the fist, which is related to physical violence (what was done to slaves). The thorn in the classical Greek was in the sense of a pale or stake (Vincent’s Word Studies). Ah, this was refreshing to know how the Lord heard my own frustration and in some ways, bitterness, and spoke to me, loud and clear! Just when I thought He was remaining silent, He whispered loud enough to tell me where to look!

The Thorn in Paul's Flesh

Paul had this continued affliction. The source in this particular case was Satan's messenger, which many would suggest may have been a personal physical affliction and not just the constant opposition of those hostile to him. As I read on further, as I study that particular scripture in it's context, it would seem to me to be more of the constant opposition of those hostile to, and towards, him because the Scriptures only elude to exactly WHAT this thorn was, without being exact, but we know, whatever it was, it was ALLOWED and BROUGHT by a messenger of Satan. This means, God allowed this to come upon Paul much the same way He allowed Satan to torment Job. The evidence of Paul’s success in ministry was the power of the gospel to transform lives that, ultimately led to the churches he founded and built up. They all were a monumental testimony to his faithfulness and to God’s power working through him. To see any of those churches being led astray by false teachers was a painful, humbling experience for Paul, yet one that he needed in his walk in order to remain faithful and successful in performing the will of his Lord God.

Upon closer examination, twice in verse 7, Paul emphasizes that God allowed his thorn in the flesh to keep him from exalting himself. Though he was the noblest Christian, Paul was not impervious to the normal struggles of life. Certainly, because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations he had experienced, pride was a constant temptation. And isn't pride a temptation for many of us, whether we have been gifted in the ways that Paul was in his ministry or in other ways, pride goeth before a fall. Therefore, to keep him humble, Paul was given … a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment him. The Lord did not cause it to be there, but, instead He allowed it. God’s perfect will had determined Paul’s afflictions. God appointed it and God’s grace was there for his malady. Paul, however,  surrendered to the will of God in his situation by choice. God said NO to Paul’s request for healing because God had a greater purpose in saying no. More could be accomplished through Paul with his thorn in his flesh and afflictions than being healed. And Paul totally understood the benefits; it brought dependence on God Almighty!

This is the very opposite of  all the “faith teaching” which says because a person is whole and strong physically, God’s power must be in there. Paul’s weakness became his asset. This human flaw he possibly carried throughout his whole ministry became an opportunity for God’s strength to be manifested, and God was glorified. Let's think about what 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 says, "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 about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." Paul had a messenger from Satan to live with. He didn’t keep striving to be free from it, because no amount of faith would have removed it. It was God’s will and Paul accepted it. God’s answer was His grace. God’s power was then exhibited in Paul’s life because of his affliction. I've experienced this myself, the weakness I've had, the strength that I've had to find outside of my flesh and the "thorns in my flesh" that have been allowed. But, once I was able to grasp that it was there to humble me and for God to use me in a greater way, then I began to see things a little clearer. Sometimes, out glasses need wiped off from time to time.....

I will repeat....Paul’s weakness became his asset. This human flaw he possibly carried throughout his whole ministry became an opportunity for God’s strength to be manifested, and God was glorified. I found through my research and study that at least four lines of evidence support that interpretation. First, in the overwhelming majority of its uses in the New Testament (including every other occurrence in Paul’s writings), "angelos" (messenger) refers to angels. An angel sent from Satan would, of course, be a demon. Second, the verb translated "torment" always refers to harsh treatment from someone (Matt. 26:67; Mark 14:65; 1 Cor. 4:11; 1 Peter 2:20). Third, the Old Testament sometimes refers metaphorically to opponents as thorns (e.g., Num. 33:55; Josh. 23:13; Judg. 2:3; Ezek. 28:24). Finally, the verb translated "leave" in verse 8 is always used in the New Testament to speak of someone departing. The phrase "in the flesh" could also be rendered as “for” or “because of the flesh.” Flesh should be understood here not in a physical sense, but in a moral sense as a reference to Paul’s unredeemed humanness (cf. Rom. 6:19; 7:5, 18, 25; 8:4–9). The Lord allowed Paul’s intense suffering to impale his otherwise proud flesh; to humble the one who had so many revelations.

I also can see that a thorn in the flesh could also be a physical sense as well of which could be a combination of both as part of the torment. Satan is always associated with the physical illnesses and infirmities and in cases as the Lord sees fit for His purpose and His glory, He can use both. In certain people, the physical thorn in one's flesh could serve the same purpose. However, from my own spiritual understanding, Paul's was primarily the messenger......Paul’s obstacles in his life became his pulpit. He was able to preach Christ with more conviction. His weakness was a physical handicap, as well as a mental handicap, and it was then the result of this suffering that kept him continually broken and dependent on the Lord’s strength. Infirmities, Astheneia in Greek; means a feebleness that has to do with strength, a weakness in the mind or body. Mind OR body. Both. But I believe Paul's thorn in his flesh was the messenger sent to persecute him and to torment him while he was preaching the gospel! Paul didn't really speak to the Corinthians about what his thorn was and from all the other passages referencing thorns or similar expressions, thorns refers AND infers to people.

When people were sick or diseased, doesn't the bible state it plainly everywhere? God does not try to hide, or disguise, the fact that Christians get sick, but rather He sets forth gifts of healing in the church (1 Corinthians 12:9), and ordained that the prayer of faith would heal the sick (James 5:15). Paul wasn't trying to confuse the Corinthians by referring to his affliction as a "thorn in the flesh", but he used terminology from the Old Testament, which explained his situation very well. He said that he believed, "all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:" (Acts 24:14), so he knew what these scriptures meant, and they would also be available to the Corinthians too. When the Israelites went into the promised land, they were told to destroy their enemies completely, and often they did (Numbers 21:35; Deuteronomy 2:33-34; Joshua 6:21; 8:24), but when they didn't obey, and mixed in with them, then they would vex them, coming back to persecute them in times of their weakness. This situation still exists today with Israel, particularly with those nations around them who are possessors of the original land given to Joshua (Joshua 1:4). Notice in the following Scriptures, that a "thorn" always refers to people:
Numbers 33:55, "those which you let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land in which you dwell."
Joshua 23:13, "these nations ... they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes,"
Judges 2:2-3, "the inhabitants of this land; ... they shall be as thorns in your sides,"
Ezekiel 28:24, "there shall be no more a pricking brier ... nor any of grieving thorn of all that are round about them, that despised them;"

A person can get to a place in Christ, walking in obedience and faith, where it is impossible for the devil to put sickness on him (Exodus 15:26; Psalm 91:9-10; 121:7; Proverbs 19:23; 26:2; Ecclesiastes 8:5; 1 John 5:18). There is evidence that Paul was at this place when a viper bit him, and although he should've died, it didn't have any effect on him at all as stated in Acts 28:3-6, "Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.” 5 But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. 6 The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god." Notice they said he was "A" god, though, not THE God. So when we look at how Paul described his sufferings in various places throughout the Bible, not only was it impossible for them to refer to sickness, but they clearly indicate persecution for Christ's sake.

The devil could not afflict Paul's body directly with sickness, or any other evil, so there was only one other way that God would ever allow Paul to be afflicted, and that was through persecution. Persecution comes through people. The work of "the messenger of Satan" (a fallen angel - a demon) can be seen in these next following passages where he not only stirred up the Jews against Paul, but also used them continually to stir up others against him, and to bring strong persecution against him wherever he went. Let's take a quick look at those:
At Antioch (Acts 13:50) "the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city,"
At Iconium (Acts 14:2) "the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles,"
At Lystra (Acts 14:19) "certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, ... stoned Paul,"
At Thessalonica (Acts 17:5) "the Jews who did not believe, moved with envy, ... set all the city on an uproar,"
At Berea (Acts 17:13) "the Jews of Thessalonica ... stirred up the people."
At Jerusalem (Acts 21:27) "the Jews who were of Asia, ... stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him."
Over forty Jews even went so far as to bind themselves under a curse, to eat or drink nothing until they had killed Paul (Acts 23:12-15), while in Asia the silversmith idol makers were used to stir people up against Paul in order to defend their craft (Acts 19:22-41). All of this, and much more, was the work of the messenger of Satan sent to buffet Paul, which shows again that his "thorn in the flesh" was people persecuting him, and not a sickness.

Now, before I go on, my situation is the same. The more I speak on behalf of the Lord, the more I come up against opposition. The more Faith I have and walk by, the more arrows come flying at me. The more blessings and signs and wonders come to light through my wilderness, the more darkness TRIES to suffocate me. Even from those whom I felt were of comfort and friendship to my life, I have found opposition. And that's OK. There is one thorn in my flesh, the one I referred to in the beginning of this article, that I cried out to the Lord about asking Him to remove it. I've sensed this was a messenger of Satan, using this person as a vessel for a long time. To many, this person would seem harmless or safe. To ME however, I know it's not that way! Some things I just know. This is one of them.

Although it's a frustrating situation and one in which not many understand, I keep fighting against it, standing firm and denouncing the power that Satan MISTAKENLY believes he has over my life, no matter how difficult the road I'm traveling on becomes. NOTHING is as bad as what our Lord Jesus Christ did for our sins at the cross and my lesson in this life is to continue to do the Will of the Lord and KNOW and LIVE in the Promises of God because He already went before me. He knows what's best for me. I sure don't....or I wouldn't have made mistakes along the way. However, without mistakes and failures I wouldn't need a Savior! And believe me, I NEED MY SAVIOR!

Just as Jesus prayed three times for possibly escaping from the persecution and the cross that was facing Him, in the garden before his crucifixion, (Matthew 26:36-46), so Paul also sought God three times to escape his "thorn in the flesh" (2 Corinthians 12:8). Neither escaped what faced them though because that wasn't the Will of the FATHER. Jesus was strengthened by an angel in evidence in Luke 22:43, and in Hebrews 5:7, "who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear,", while Paul, on the other hand, was given grace to sustain him (2 Corinthians 12:9).

So was Paul's attitude towards his "thorn" the same as people's attitude to their sicknesses, or was it a scriptural response to persecution? Well, after he received his answer from God, and finally came to terms with it, his attitude towards it was summed up in two phrases: "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities," (v9), and "I take pleasure in infirmities," (v10). So he gloried in it, and took pleasure in it. This doesn't really describe a person's attitude towards sickness does it? How many Christians are praying to become sick so that they can glory in it, and take pleasure in it? There is no glory in being sick. Most people who are sick are all too keen to get rid of it at any price. Some would give everything that they own to get rid of it, like the woman with the issue of blood for example in Mark 5:25-26, but what attitude are we supposed to have towards persecution?

Satan’s assault on Paul did not take place outside of God’s will. God is sovereign over all of His creation and will use even the forces of the kingdom of darkness to accomplish His righteous purposes (cf. Num. 22:2–24:25; 1 Kings 22:19–23; Luke 22:31–32) if God sees fit to do so. Paul was critical to God’s redemptive plan, and He would have to keep him humble by whatever means necessary, including using a demon. God knows what will make each of us humble, what will break us and what will make us surrender TO His will for us. We don't have a clue and since we don't have a clue and aren't Sovereign, then who better to use whatever means necessary to get us to do the Will of our Father, then our Father Himself? If this seems peculiar or unusual to you, remember all of the accounts of Job (Job 1:6–12; 2:1–7) and Peter (Luke 22:31). In both of their cases, God allowed Satan to bring devastating suffering on His saints to achieve their greater usefulness. And God already knew the outcome......

God “comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:4-5). Suffering has such value in that those who have gone through it can minister comfort to others who also suffer. Without our sufferings, it's hard to give comfort if we don't know what true suffering is. Comfort comes from the Lord and sometimes it appears through our trials, tribulations and sufferings. Our sufferings and pains build up compassion in us for others, and then we are able to minister healing to them. Healing of a broken spirit is an amazing thing and it can only be accomplished through the Lord God Almighty in His might!

Notice that a man gets blessed when he is persecuted in Matthew 5:11, "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake." Yet also gets blessed when he endures temptation in James 1:12, "Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him." The Greek word translated "temptation" (Gtr. peirasmos) is also translated "temptations" (James 1:2), and trial (1 Peter 4:12), where we are told to "count it all joy", and "rejoice". This is the same word which was used when Paul talked about "my temptation which was in my flesh" in Galatians 4:14, which is referring to his "thorn", and " temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews:" in Acts 20:19. This confirms again that his "thorn" refers to the trials and temptations, which came through persecutions, not sickness. Persecutions come through people. These scriptures all show that the scriptural attitude towards persecution is to rejoice, be happy, and to glorify God, which was exactly Paul's attitude towards his "thorn", confirming again that his "thorn in the flesh " was people persecuting him, and not a sickness.

But it's all about the attitude towards our persecutions, towards the "thorns in our flesh" that God may be allowing for the glory to be given to Him alone. How we react to such "persecutions" will often times determine our future attitude. My Pastor once told me to count myself worthy that the Lord finds me trustworthy enough to put me through such fires and although I received his words into my spirit because I knew they were coming from the Lord, I didn't quite "get it" until recently.....the light bulb came on and it was bright. Blaring actually! While I was sitting on the couch crying to the Lord to remove this thorn in my side, I was heard. I knew I was heard because He spoke to me and led me to 2 Corinthians to re-read about Paul's "thorn in his flesh." I learned many valuable lessons and although the trials aren't quite over just yet, and the thorn hasn't quite been removed just yet, I know they will be soon. Paul's persecutions were extreme because of how God was going to, and did, use him. Paul's attitude was of surrender, of joy, of rejoicing, of happiness and to glorify God.

I know there are people watching my life unfold....watching how I'm being taken care of, watching how I'm handling these bonfires that seem to keep popping up all over in my life, and they're watching how I respond. They're watching my ATTITUDE and the attitude that I give to the world is ultimately a reflection of the relationship that I have with Jesus! I want His light to shine through me, I want Him to use me for others, and in order to do that, I have to go through my own persecutions, trials, and THORNS IN MY FLESH!

No matter what affliction each of us has, or will encounter in our future, it's there for our learning and humbling, and it's there so that God’s grace for our endurance is magnified. It is all for His glory and for our good. As Paul wrote earlier in his letter, let us be reminded daily that “our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4:17). And as he also wrote to the Romans, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18). AMEN!



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