A NEWSLETTER FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE GREENWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST

VOLUME 3 NO. 16                                            June 11, 2006

“THE THORN”

BY STEVE NIEMEIER

Oh that thorn in the flesh that Paul had.  What was it?  Could it have been his eyes?  Many think so.  Whatever it was II Corinthians 12:7-10 lets us know that God stated to Paul that His grace was sufficient for him even though Paul had prayed three times for this thorn to be removed.

This was a great lesson for Paul wasn't it?  He needed to just deal with his thorn and go on about his business.  This is exactly what he did.  However, our thorns are different aren't they?  Whatever Paul's thorn was it wasn't as bad as ours was it?  Why the stones that Stephen felt in Acts 7 do not compare to our stones do they.  Sometimes we even fool ourselves into thinking that the nails in the hands and feet of Jesus are not as bad as the nails in our lives.

It is one thing to read of the examples of those who suffered and handled their sufferings with dignity and faith and it is entirely different to be one who is doing the suffering.  We become blinded by our own sufferings and struggles and forget the lessons learned from the scriptures about this life and the sufferings we will have.

Solomon's wisdom about this life in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 should be a lesson to us but we dismiss this because of our present distress.  The words of God in II Corinthians 12:9 as He answered Paul should be words that we repeat over and over again to ourselves.  His grace is sufficient for us --- His strength is made perfect in weakness.  Thank you Lord for your grace and answering our prayers!