2 Corinthians 12:6b-10 (HCSB)
But I will spare you, so that no one can credit me with something beyond what he sees in me or hears from me, especially because of the extraordinary revelations. Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so I would not exalt myself. Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away from me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, catastrophes, persecutions, and in pressures, because of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Paul had spent his whole life being self-sufficient and being very proud of his accomplishments. Therefore, when Paul had been given this extraordinary vision of God’s glory in the heavenly places, there was a very real danger that he could have been puffed up, reinforcing his own sense of self-importance.
God knew this, so he sent upon Paul a thorn in the flesh, something that would keep his own weakness continually before him. Paul identifies this “thorn” as a messenger of satan, not meaning that it was a demon. Satan in the Hebrew is not a proper name, but a title meaning “opponent” or “adversary”. So, what Paul is saying is that this thorn in his flesh got in his way all the time. And that was by design. Even though it felt like a messenger from satan, it was actually a good gift from God.
It doesn’t matter what the specific thorn in the flesh was. Conjecture has run from weak eyes to his mother-in-law! The purpose of the thorn was to keep Paul’s prideful independent tendencies in check. Paul was a powerful man, mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. Left unchecked, he would immediately begin to follow his own leadings, make his own plans, and then accomplish much of them in his own strength, continually reinforcing his own sense of self-worth and self-reliance.
But the thorn God gave him was so burdensome that he had no recourse but to depend on Him for everything that he did. He quickly realized that, even though he could see the next steps he needed to take, he had no strength in himself to take them. So, he constantly turned to God for the ability to take even the next step. The result was that he had to give God full credit for all that he accomplished.
The irony, of course, was that in his debilitated state, Paul actually accomplished far more in God’s power than he ever could have done on his own. And he gladly acknowledges that fact here.
Father, it is easy for us as capable human beings to see the next steps You want us to take, and then to set about making our own plans to accomplish them. But working in our own strength will accomplish, at best, what mere humans can accomplish. It is only when we acknowledge Your all-surpassing power and fully rely on Your strength that we can do the miraculous things that Your plan so often requires. Help me, Lord, to not become prideful or self-confident, to try to do the work in my own strength. Help me to learn Paul’s lesson of fully relying on You for every step, without You having to give me a thorn in my own flesh to teach me! Amen.