Christian Living
Second Corinthians 12:7, has been explained in different ways by different groups and persons. In the past few years, I have written at least 2 blogposts on this portion of scripture.
Let’s read it together…..
“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
In the Christendom, this portion of scripture has been commonly explained to mean…
(a) That Apostle Paul had a disease imposed on him by God (b) That this disease was put on Paul by God in order to keep him humble considering the abundance of revelations Paul received (c) That so, God can choose to put a disease on anyone in order to keep him/her humble (d) Therefore people can endure sicknesses and even boast about them because it’s an indication that God loves them too much to keep them humble (e) That the grace of God will see them through as they endure sicknesses (f) that weakness is a sign of strength.
Unfortunately none of these interpretations is correct.
Paul’s Thorn In The Flesh Was Not A Disease
According to Paul, his thorn in the flesh was a messenger from the devil.
When you think of a messenger what exactly comes to your mind? Most likely…..a person, certainly not a disease.
We find other mentions of ‘thorn in the flesh’ in scripture from; Numbers 33:55, Judges 2:3, Joshua 23:13.
In all 3 scriptures cited above, a ‘thorn in the flesh’ wasn’t a disease or sickness but irritating, troublesome, annoying, distracting persons or spirits.
So I align with the theological school of thought that Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh was not a disease but a spiritual entity.
Now if Paul’s messenger came from the devil, chances are that it was a demon spirit… Demons are the devil’s stooges. This demon stayed around Paul as a constant distraction, annoyance, pain in the heart and body, with an intention to frustrate Paul’s ministry. Paul wanted it/him taken away by God.
Paul’s Thorn In The Flesh Did Not Come From God
God does not borrow demons from the devil to run His errands, He has countless number of angels whose job it is to carry messages around (Hebrews 1:13-14)
Besides it is unlikely that God will give someone an abundance of revelation and also send forces after him to distract him from properly articulating and communicating the revelations. Naaaa ….. God is not confused.
God Does Not Put Sicknesses On Anyone
In John 10:10, Jesus tells us how to differentiate between the thief and Himself…
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
John 10:10 NKJV
Simply put, anything that steals, kills and destroys is from the thief (the devil), and anything that leads to life is from Jesus. And Jesus said when we see Him we’ve seen God the Father.
“Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?“
John 14:9 NKJV
While on earth, Jesus did only what He sees the Father do; He went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil …
“how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”
Acts 10:38 NKJV
The devil oppressed…..Jesus healed.
God heals, He is the God that heals. God only does good. There is nothing good about sickness.
What To Do With A Thorn In The Flesh
It’s been interpreted by some that that God told Paul to endure his thorns (diseases) because he had God’s grace. That is incorrect. According to Paul, this thorny agent brought him….”infirmities, reproaches, needs, persecutions, distresses”.
Do you really think God would have advised Paul to endure these things?
What do you think Paul should have done?
What do you do with oppression, depression, shame, lack, harassments, distressing situations?
God wanted Paul to use the grace available to him to tackle the irritating spirit- cast it away, resist it, shut it down, get rid of it. It was totally within Paul’s ability to handle this irritating spirit. Little wonder he received a ‘no-no’ response 3 times from the Lord. What God was really saying to Paul was….”you handle it”.
What Are You Doing About The Thorns In Your Flesh?
Maybe another funny but interesting way to handle thorns in the flesh, irritating and troublesome persons and circumstances is to become insensitive and unresponsive to their attacks by deadening their target….your flesh. Crucify the flesh…
“And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
Galatians 5:24-26 NKJV
As funny as that may sound, we can appreciate the wisdom in it when we realise that the ultimate aim of the irritating spirit is to ‘buffet’, attack or trouble someone to the point that the person responds in the flesh thereby creating room for the devil to attack….naaaa…walk in the spirit. Don’t fight spiritual battles with physical means. Ranting, getting annoyed, shouting, worrying, crying won’t fix a thing, it will only get you frustrated and exhausted.
Recognize that thorns come to ultimately frustrate you; to make life difficult for you; to limit you and make it seem like you’re not making progress. So first, tackle any form of frustration attempting to creep into your mind by carefully removing the focus from yourself and unto a bigger goal. This is very critical. You are unlikely to be frustrated if you’re driven by something bigger than yourself. Focus on God.
Second, shut down the proponents of your thorns. Deal with the thorns, cast them out, resist them with the Word of God, love as God loves where this is applicable, call forth your needs from Heaven’s storehouse, be steadfast with your confessions of faith, etc…… just handle your thorns, you have the grace to do so.
Your success is never dependent on the presence or absence of thorns but on the Grace of God working effectively and relentlessly in you to actualize His purpose for your life. Remember that God’s parameters for measuring success are never man’s.
It’s not about the thorns, it’s all about the GRACE of God. Nothing can successfully hinder the Grace of God in your life unless you allow it.
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be firm (steadfast), immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord [always being superior, excelling, doing more than enough in the service of the Lord], knowing and being continually aware that your labor in the Lord is not futile [it is never wasted or to no purpose].”
1 Corinthians 15:58 AMPC
