RECENTLY, on Christian television, I saw a gift offer for a man`s book that was entitled something like "Your thorn in the flesh." The person who wrote the book went to great lengths to teach that our physical infirmities are given to us as a gift from God! He said that by the time the reader finished reading his book, they would be thanking God for "their thorn in the flesh!" He went on to say that whatever God chose to use as a “thorn in the flesh” in their lives would become a great blessing to them!
Oh, brother! I have never known a thorn in my flesh to be a blessing. Every time I have had one (no matter how small), I did everything possible to get rid of it! When I did, that was a blessing to me!
I don`t like to criticize or critique someone else`s material, but in this case, what this man was propagating was off the charts and needs to be addressed by somebody!
When I heard the advertisement, I was shocked that this particular network would promote this kind of material because they bring on so many good ministries that teach otherwise. How could this be allowed to slip in under their radar?
There are certain things that God defines as "blessings," and there are other things that He defines as "curses." They are spelled out clearly in the 28th chapter of the book of Deuteronomy.
tells us that Jesus was made to be a curse for us, so that the blessing of Abraham might come upon us through Jesus Christ. Anything that would be a curse to us would certainly not be considered a blessing!
People ask, "What was Paul`s thorn in the flesh?" Paul referred to the “thorn in the flesh” and actually answered the big question that theologians have debated for centuries. He said that the “thorn in the flesh” was “the messenger of Satan.”
• Paul did not say he had a sickness or a disease that he referred to as a thorn in the flesh.
• He did not say that this “thorn in the flesh” was a nagging wife or a sore back.
• He did not say that it was terrible eyesight.
• He defined this “thorn in the flesh” as a messenger of Satan that was sent to buffet him. It is that simple.
The word "messenger" is a Greek word that is translated some 181 times in our English version of the new Testament as "angel." In just a few other instances, it is translated as "messenger," and this is one of those places. That is unfortunate.
Webster says that the word "messenger" means: one who bears a message or does an errand. Now that is interesting, and it sure opens up a new line of thoughts and possibilities!
As we have already discussed, Paul referred to the difficulties and persecutions that he went through as his “infirmities,” and he said that they were caused by this "messenger” or “angel” of Satan.
• The word "buffet" means- blow after blow, just like waves beating against the side of a ship.
• What message was the one who sent the messenger trying to send, or what errand or mission was this messenger trying to accomplish?
I think the message that was being sent to Paul was that he needed to stop preaching the Gospel, and if he did not, he was going to have continual trouble! Paul referred to his persecutions, shipwrecks, perils, and all kinds of other problems that he experienced when he was preaching the Gospel as "infirmities." We might note that in all of his lists, he never mentioned sickness or disease as one of his "infirmities."
• religious traditionalists have conveniently added to his list the very things that he omitted for their own benefit.
As we have already established, Paul used the term “thorn in the flesh" on purpose to describe the wicked spirit of the devil that was causing all of the trouble he was going through. It was derived by Paul from the Old Testament scriptures, which said that the inhabitants of the land that the Israelites failed to drive out would be as "pricks in their eyes, and THORNS in their sides."
• Paul referred to the difficulties, hardships, reproaches, necessities, persecution, and distresses for Christ’s sake as things that were caused by the direct action of “a messenger (angel) of Satan!
• Notice also in the list of things that Paul records as his infirmities that there is no mention of a sickness, a disease, or a physical ailment that he had of any kind.
10 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.
The religious understanding of what Paul wrote is that he had a problem with pride. Traditionalists propagate the idea that God gave Paul a physical infirmity, in other words, poor eyesight or some sort of disease to keep him humble. They refer to his statement where he wrote to the Galatians and said, " See how large a letter I have written unto you with my own hand" and say that he had to write with LARGE LETTERS because of his bad eyesight. Oh, brother! That is not even worthy of an explanation!
They couple that with his statement in , and when they are finished, one would come to the conclusion that the poor fellow was almost completely blind and had to be led around like a frail, helpless old man!
15 Where is then the blessedness you spoke of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.
It is important that we understand what Paul wrote because he said that what he was dealing with was given to him “lest he be exalted above measure." To me, this is no great mystery. Paul himself defined exactly what it was. He said it was "the MESSENGER of Satan."
Paul said, ‘a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.’
The traditional explanation is that Paul had a chronic infirmity or perhaps an eye disease God either gave him, or refused to heal in order to keep Paul humble.
This interpretation has destroyed the faith of more people than we can count. Rather than a heart filled with faith and confidence in the redemptive right of healing, believers are double minded and wavering, thinking that their sickness might be a ‘thorn’ that God has chosen to not remove.
Just what is a thorn in the flesh? When we let scripture interpret scripture the answer is easy.
But if you will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which you let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein you dwell. |
It would be hard to insert the traditional interpretation of sickness into this scenario. The irritants and thorns are people, enemy inhabitants in the land. This language is not describing a national sickness but rather the result of not expelling the enemy. The enemy would be a constant harassment to the peace of Israel.
Is God speaking of a sickness that would affect all of Israel? No. It is figurative language that describes a persistent enemy.
Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. |
Again, the same. ‘Thorn in the flesh’ is a saying that refers to a chronic or persistent enemy that hasn’t been expelled from Israel’s promised land. When Paul used this language, he knew exactly what he was saying. There was a persistent enemy, a demon that harassed his ministry due to the abundance of his revelation. This enemy didn’t come from God. It was a ‘messenger of Satan’ sent to buffet him.
Why didn’t God respond favorably to Paul’s request?
The traditional interpretation has God saying, ‘suck it up Paul, you can make it.’ But that isn’t what is being said.
Paul was asking for God to remove the enemy from his life; something that God never promised to do. God’s response was that His grace (his unlimited provision and enabling) was sufficient.
Paul was already equipped to handle the situation. But like many of us, he grew weary of the daily harassing of the ‘messenger of Satan.’ He was inadvertently blaming God for the continued buffeting.
Paul knew the answer and was already aware of God’s grace. It was Paul who wrote of the armor of God and quenching all the fiery darts of the enemy. No doubt Paul was aware of that which was penned by James….
It wasn’t that Paul was unequipped to be more than a conqueror; he was tired of having to conquer!
I doubt that many of us have a ‘messenger of Satan’ assigned to us, and yet we grow weary and want God to make our problems disappear.
The answer you need is the same answer that God gave to Paul: His grace! His abundant provision, strength and enabling are more than sufficient to meet your need.
You have
→ the armor of God,
→ the shield of faith,
→ the Name of Jesus,
→ the Holy Spirit,
→ the better covenant,
→ the promises of God,
→ the gifts of the Spirit,
→ the mind of Christ and
→ the keys of the Kingdom
at your disposal!
You are equipped to win. His grace is sufficient. Don’t blame your thorns on God. He has given you the resources of heaven in order to live victoriously on this earth!