A Thorn in the Flesh
The Apostle Paul was the greatest preacher ever. His obedience to Christ and sacrificial service is something that we should all imitate. There is no doubt. He was beheaded for his Savior. The next thing he heard was his Heavenly Father saying, “Well done, My good and faithful servant.”
And yet, Paul, this great man of God, suffered from what he called “a thorn in the flesh.” What was this “thorn in the flesh”? No one knows. It could have been an illness, a deformity, or possibly blindness. All we really know is that some unknown issue afflicted Paul, teaching him to depend on his all-sufficient God.
Yet, there is one thing that I have never heard anyone else suggest. Perhaps Paul’s thorn in the flesh was an addiction. Maybe he was addicted to alcohol or drugs or food or even porn. Now you might think, Paul was a Godly man who would not have had an addiction. Well yes, it is true, he was a Godly man, but he was not a perfect man. He had faults and his faults made him feel that he was “the chief of sinners.” You see God does not use perfect people. He uses broken people with thorns in their flesh.
Most Christians struggle with some type of addiction, even the most Godly among us. All of us have a thorn in the flesh of some kind. The Bible does not answer every question so we don’t know what Paul’s thorn in the flesh was. But we do know that God’s grace was sufficient for Paul. The Bible does tell us that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
One of the blessings of the Bible not giving us all the answers is this. Not knowing what Paul suffered, we can relate with him in our suffering. When we feel wretched and wonder who will deliver us from this body of death, we too can express gratitude. We can thank God for Jesus Christ our Lord. Because God’s grace was sufficient for Paul’s thorn in the flesh and it is still sufficient for yours.
“And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
II Corinthians 12:7-10 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/2co.12.7-10.NKJV
Douglas & Deborah Huff
From Down Where the Pavement Ends
Email- douglas@pavementendsministry.com
