22 August 2007 Devotion for Today "Thorn in the Flesh" 2 Cor 12:7-10

22 August 2007  Devotion for Today  “Thorn in the Flesh”  2 Corinthians 12:7-10

 

            My wife is very allergic to poison ivy, which is a shame because she enjoys working in her flower bed.  We seem to be plagued by the stuff, which thrives in our boxwoods and throughout the shrubbery in its leaves of three (let it be!).  Along with that are the poisonous stalks of sumac that grow rampantly in this part of North Carolina.  Its inviting purple berries leave a nasty rash which will hang on for days.  Robin accidentally brushed some of it with her hand and then touched her eyelids while wiping perspiration from her brow.  Her eyes were sore for quite a while afterward.  For some reason, I have never had a problem with poison ivy.  I don’t ever recall becoming infected by it.   Last evening I scouted the flower bed for poison ivy while she pulled dew-grass from around her plants.  It appeared, however, that Robin had gotten in there ahead of me before I had a chance to pull the poison plants out.  I am afraid she will break out with sore blisters again.

 

            Poison ivy, thorns, and other unpleasant vegetation is just part of the result of the Fall.  Even if they did exist in Eden, Adam and Eve’s bare bodies would not have reacted to them as we do today. 

 

            I call upon you to consider the passage in 2 Corinthians 12 where Paul deals with this.  He had his own limitations, which he readily admits.  But this is how he dealt with them.  2 Cor 12:7 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. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 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. 10 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.

 

            What was that “thorn in the flesh Paul was talking about?”  It is obvious that he is not talking about a plant or vegetation.   It could have been a physical problem which theologians have speculated about for centuries.  It could have been an emotional thing, or even a moral thing.  IT doesn’t matter.  Praise God he doesn’t tell us.  Whatever it is it was something Paul gave over to Christ and told Him- Lord, I can’t do it!   Paul knew that his sufficiency would have to rest in Christ and in Him alone to overlook his limitations, scars, and flaws which he already admitted are too numerous to name.

 

            Are you overloaded today?  You have a way of escape.  Are you just about to the breaking point?  Realize that the limitations that you have upon you are not a curse, but they are a blessing.  They are God’s gifts to you to know that when you can’t get it done, or you feel you strive against too many “thorns in the flesh,” there is someone who loves you and says, “Its okay, my grace is sufficient for you!”

           

Have a blessed day!

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@embarqmail.com

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

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