So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. ~2 Corinthians 12:7-10
This passage has been on my mind a lot lately. It keeps showing up in disparate contexts, and I know by now to pay attention when that happens.
Like with most revelations, I've read these verses a few dozen times over the years. I speculated over what Paul might have meant by a 'thorn in the flesh,' but it never seemed very important beyond the principle of being content whatever the circumstance, relying on God to supply every need.
I'm still not really bothered by the specifics of that thorn. It's a deep well, though, and the Internet is happy to give a hundred possible answers. Most people are pretty convinced it was a physical malady, likely something to do with his eyes resulting from being blinded on the road to Damascus. (Which in itself is intriguing, because it's a seminal moment for Paul, and you really only ever hear about the good things that came from it, but there are lasting consequences to encountering the Lord, and it's fair to assume that not all of them will be pleasant in this life. But I digress.) Some people think it was a moral issue, some kind of chronic temptation that Paul constantly battled. I'm less inclined in that direction, but I suppose it does present its own lessons and challenges.
Whatever it was, Paul describes it as a thorn in the flesh. Thorns are annoying. They prick at you if you move the wrong way, they bury themselves so that they are hard to root out, but most of the time, they can be ignored. And yet, it was annoying enough that Paul pleaded with God to remove it. He didn't ask nicely. He didn't passive aggressively hint about it. He pleaded. A plea is a request made in an urgent and emotional manner. HE DID NOT LIKE THE THORN. It was distracting and hindered his ministry.
But it also helped his ministry. It kept him honest. It kept him from Moses' fallacy of taking credit for God's good work. At some point, Paul stopped pleading. He accepted the thorn's presence as his new reality. He accepted God's gift of grace. For the sake of Christ, he allowed himself to be content no matter what thorns he inherited or encountered.
Okay, so why are we talking about Paul when I'm supposed to be giving you an update on my week? Well, a) it's me, and if you aren't used to this by now, you haven't been paying attention; and b) I feel a little bit like Paul lately. But like, early Paul. When he was still in the midst of pleading.
I'm struggling. We still don't have a handle on my health stuff, and new issues keep cropping up. Sometimes, it's helpful, because if I'm thinking about how much pain I'm in, I'm not thinking about the fact that we're in the middle of a global pandemic, riots, and an election year. But I'm not enjoying this thorn. I'm not content. I'm still pleading. And truth be told, I'm not sure how to get from here to there. My head knows that God's grace is sufficient. My heart has doubts. So maybe I'm progressing to the boasting about weaknesses part. Because I have many. And I could do with the power of Christ resting on me right about now.
Just to reassure you that I can still do work, I did some proofing of the Global Impact Report this week. It's what we're doing now instead of the annual report on the ministry. If you donate to me or OMS, you should receive one of these. If you don't get one, I can send it to you. I also finished up a group of Castilian booklets. And Veronica and I did some much-needed inspection of our production log to see what needed to be updated and what we're doing well. Proper maintenance is a key to healthy living, or some rot like that.
Drop me a line to say hey. I could use some encouragement.
Bye!
This passage has been on my mind a lot lately. It keeps showing up in disparate contexts, and I know by now to pay attention when that happens.
Like with most revelations, I've read these verses a few dozen times over the years. I speculated over what Paul might have meant by a 'thorn in the flesh,' but it never seemed very important beyond the principle of being content whatever the circumstance, relying on God to supply every need.
I'm still not really bothered by the specifics of that thorn. It's a deep well, though, and the Internet is happy to give a hundred possible answers. Most people are pretty convinced it was a physical malady, likely something to do with his eyes resulting from being blinded on the road to Damascus. (Which in itself is intriguing, because it's a seminal moment for Paul, and you really only ever hear about the good things that came from it, but there are lasting consequences to encountering the Lord, and it's fair to assume that not all of them will be pleasant in this life. But I digress.) Some people think it was a moral issue, some kind of chronic temptation that Paul constantly battled. I'm less inclined in that direction, but I suppose it does present its own lessons and challenges.
Whatever it was, Paul describes it as a thorn in the flesh. Thorns are annoying. They prick at you if you move the wrong way, they bury themselves so that they are hard to root out, but most of the time, they can be ignored. And yet, it was annoying enough that Paul pleaded with God to remove it. He didn't ask nicely. He didn't passive aggressively hint about it. He pleaded. A plea is a request made in an urgent and emotional manner. HE DID NOT LIKE THE THORN. It was distracting and hindered his ministry.
But it also helped his ministry. It kept him honest. It kept him from Moses' fallacy of taking credit for God's good work. At some point, Paul stopped pleading. He accepted the thorn's presence as his new reality. He accepted God's gift of grace. For the sake of Christ, he allowed himself to be content no matter what thorns he inherited or encountered.
Okay, so why are we talking about Paul when I'm supposed to be giving you an update on my week? Well, a) it's me, and if you aren't used to this by now, you haven't been paying attention; and b) I feel a little bit like Paul lately. But like, early Paul. When he was still in the midst of pleading.
I'm struggling. We still don't have a handle on my health stuff, and new issues keep cropping up. Sometimes, it's helpful, because if I'm thinking about how much pain I'm in, I'm not thinking about the fact that we're in the middle of a global pandemic, riots, and an election year. But I'm not enjoying this thorn. I'm not content. I'm still pleading. And truth be told, I'm not sure how to get from here to there. My head knows that God's grace is sufficient. My heart has doubts. So maybe I'm progressing to the boasting about weaknesses part. Because I have many. And I could do with the power of Christ resting on me right about now.
Just to reassure you that I can still do work, I did some proofing of the Global Impact Report this week. It's what we're doing now instead of the annual report on the ministry. If you donate to me or OMS, you should receive one of these. If you don't get one, I can send it to you. I also finished up a group of Castilian booklets. And Veronica and I did some much-needed inspection of our production log to see what needed to be updated and what we're doing well. Proper maintenance is a key to healthy living, or some rot like that.
Drop me a line to say hey. I could use some encouragement.
Bye!
Won't see you in person this week, but I'm praying for you!
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