THORNS IN THE FLESH

“And he said, Who art Thou, Lord?  And the Lord said, I am Jesus Whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” (Acts 9:5). 

“And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.” (2 Corinthians 12:7).

The conversion of Saint Paul to the Christian faith was a very dramatic event.  Before his conversion, Paul was convinced that he was on the side of right and was God’s holy messenger, even though he was busy persecuting, arresting, and even responsible for the martyring of the followers of Jesus Christ.  He had been raised as a Pharisee, a Jewish religious sect, and was trained under one of the most renowned Hebrew teachers of the time.  Like most Jews of his time, Paul’s faith and confidence were in the Law, and not in any kind of personal relationship with God Himself.  All his works were done through the will of the flesh and not through the Spirit of God directing them.  To say that Paul was a hard and indoctrinated man would be an understatement. 

Paul had received authorization from the high priest to travel from Jerusalem to Damascus to round up any Christians he found there and bring them back in bonds to stand judgment.  As Paul was on the road to Damascus, suddenly a bright light shone down on him from heaven, and a voice spoke to him saying, “Why persecutest thou Me?”  When Paul asked who was speaking to him, the voice said, “I am Jesus Whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”  Can you imagine Paul’s astonishment and confusion?  This one event made everything that he had worked for all his life vain.  Not only that, it made it unmistakably clear that he was on the wrong side! 

It is interesting what the Lord says to Paul: “... it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”  A “prick” was a sharp iron, or iron tipped stick (or goad) that was used to drive livestock.  If the cattle started to go off in the wrong direction, a “prick” from the goad would convince them otherwise, and set them again in the direction you wanted them to go.  The more stubborn the animal, the harder the prick!  Jesus was telling Paul that he was kicking (or resisting) the very things that He (Jesus) was setting in his life to lead him into the right way.  Paul was getting pricked right and left, but he was stubbornly refusing to let those things correct and alter the direction of his life.  Paul got the message that day on the road.  He repented and turned to God with his whole heart.  He was changed into the Apostle of the Lord who would plant many churches, write fourteen books of the Bible, and directly and indirectly be responsible for converting countless souls to Christ.

God doesn’t just use goads to get the attention of unbelievers, but He uses them in the lives of Christians also.  In fact, Paul himself experienced them during his walk with the Lord.  He testifies of this in the 12^th chapter of 2 Corinthians, verse seven, when he says that he was given a thorn in the flesh for which he prayed three times, asking for it to be removed, but God would not.  It was obviously something that troubled Paul greatly because he wanted it gone, he prayed repeatedly about it, and he referred to it as “the messenger of Satan.” He also reveals that its purpose was so that he would not be exalted (or his ego inflated) because of the great many revelations that were given to him from God.  It became a constant reminder to him of his own frailty.

The word translated “thorn” in this verse is from a Greek word meaning “sharp stick, pale, or stake.”  The Geneva Bible, which was the first English translation of the Bible, actually uses the word “prick” instead of “thorn” in this verse.         

Just what does a thorn or a prick represent in our lives anyway?  There are really too many to name, but we can cite some examples.  Generally speaking, a thorn can be anything in our life that causes us discomfort or pain.  It generally forces us to examine our actions, choices, and the course that we are taking in our lives.  Specifically, it can be physical affliction, disease, tribulation, persecution, or even temptation to sin.  It can also be as simple as hearing or reading scripture that contradicts the direction our life is heading, or it may be someone challenging us with a hard truth.  Scholars generally agree that Paul’s thorn was an affliction of the eyes that would flare up often and cause him difficulty.  This would explain why he said to the Galatians, “...if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.” (Galatians 4:15).  It also explains why Paul often had others write his letters while he dictated the words to them.  This condition in no way negated Paul’s ability to pray for others and see them healed.  It does underscore the fact, however, that God’s children must deal with the weakness of the flesh as they learn to trust the power of God.

A few things that we must understand about the thorns that life brings us are:

ü  Thorns are always sent for our correction and eventual spiritual growth;

ü  God never sends the goads, Satan does that.  God merely allows them and uses them for our benefit;

ü  Thorns teach us patience, perseverance, humility, experience, discernment, and a host of other things;

ü  Thorns are not intended to destroy us, only to get our attention so that we will seek God’s will.

 ü  Thorns are painful, but necessary.

Once, while I was praying before church, I became aware of a stinging in my index finger.  When I looked at it, I noticed that there was a sizeable splinter that was buried under the flesh.  I wondered at this because I hadn’t been aware of it before then.  As I thought about it, I realized when and where I might have gotten it, and was amazed to realize that I had carried that hurt for several days and not known it!  I was too busy and distracted to even notice that I was hurt!  It wasn’t until I quieted myself before the Lord that the hurt became evident to me.  As I removed the thorn, I thought about how many internal hurts that I had carried around with me for long periods because I wouldn’t bring them to the Lord to make sense of and remove.  To understand the hurts in our lives that God allows, we must bring them to Him and let Him give us the wisdom to know what He wants of us.  James tells us, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.  But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” (James 1:5, 6).

In Isaiah we find a prophecy of Christ that speaks to the Lord’s resolve regarding the thorns of life.  “For the Lord GOD will help Me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set My face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.  He wakeneth morning by morning, He wakeneth Mine ear to hear as the learned.  The Lord GOD hath opened Mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.  I gave My back to the smiters, and My cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not My face from shame and spitting.” (Isaiah 50:5-7).  Paul also speaks plainly of the Lord’s sufferings when he writes, “In the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death, and was heard in that He feared; though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered; and being made perfect, He became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him.” (Hebrews 5:7-9).  Jesus was tempted in every way that you or I will ever be so that He could be a faithful High Priest to us in all things that pertain to God.  We can never say to God, “You don’t know what I’m going through!”  He does!  And He overcame every single trial in order to secure the victory for all of those who will believe!

As Paul prayed about his thorn, God told him, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9).  We must not despise our trials and temptations in this life, but rather embrace them and allow them to be the agents of change in our lives.  When I am humble enough to acknowledge my weakness to God, He then can pour grace upon me and fill me with His strength.  I must not forget that God has deliberately chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and He has chosen the weak things to confound the things which are mighty.  God has chosen Base and despised things all for one purpose: that no flesh should glory in His presence!  Our weaknesses provide God with the opportunity to manifest His grace and strength!

What was Paul’s response to all of this?  He said, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” (2 Corinthians 12: 10).  We Christians often get things backwards.  We think that God can’t use us unless we are perfect, strong, and wise.  We are then tempted to lie to ourselves (and to others), pretending that we aren’t facing the same struggles as everybody else.  Instead, we need to realize that we are carnal creatures that God is transforming little by little into His glorious image.  It is Jesus Who is working in us to give us the will and the ability to walk in His footsteps.  We can’t be useful until we learn this lesson.  I must believe that in me (that is, in my flesh), dwells no good thing! (See Romans 7:18).  That is the first step to being used of God.

Whether the thorns in our life are temporary or permanent is all in the Father’s hands.  We can be assured of this thing, however: that all things work together for good to them that love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).  The thorns in our lives teach us humility because they remind us that, while we bear the glorious treasure of the grace of God within us, yet we are nothing more than earthen vessels (fragile, clay pots) in the end.  Do not fear, dear one, Jesus has promised that He will never leave us, or forsake us.  He is with us always, even to the end of this world!