Wanting The Thorn Gone Now!

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. 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 (NKJV)

When you have a thorn sticking in your flesh there is only one reaction: Get It Out! You don’t want to study it, or think about it, or consider the best way to remove it--you just want it out the quickest way possible.

Thorns hurt and immediately grab our attention. They shout a warning of pain through us and we immediately react toward them. Thorns are never pleasant, never something we welcome. Even the Apostle Paul went to the Lord three times asking that his painful thorn in the flesh be removed. And that is the biggest problem with thorns--very often we are unable to remove them ourselves.

I have had numerous thorns in various forms over many years. Indeed, it seems the thing I do most is go back to the Lord over and over again asking Him to remove one thorn or another that are above my ability to remove or deal with. Over time numerous individual thorns have been removed, yet others have lingered, or returned. And when you can not get a thorn removed, you are going to need a special kind of grace to deal with the frustration of constantly dealing with and tolerating a painful thorn no matter what shape it takes: Physical, Mental, Emotional, or Spiritual.

Whatever your particular thorn in the flesh, take it to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to remove it, but if He does not, then ask Him for the grace to survive it with His help and comfort to see you through.

Prayer: Dear Lord, these thorns in the flesh prick and trouble us, cause us pain and misery, please heal us, please give us grace and peace, please help us through our pain and suffering. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2016