So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Since the beginning of mankind, parents have punished children to “teach them a lesson”. Most children would prefer it if that particular lesson were taught on Zoom instead of in person. The rest would perhaps apply the words of Paul that it was a messenger of Satan but in truth, suffering and pain are great teachers. If anything, it keeps our ego in check. That is what happened to Paul in the first century. It would be easy to become conceited at Paul’s list of accomplishments. All Paul could boast about in the end was weakness.
Come to Cape Community Church tomorrow and learn with Paul what keeps us from listing our accomplishments. Instead, we will learn in our weakness to list the ways in which the grace of God has saved us from sin, from death, and from the Disease of Conceit, as Bob Dylan called it. Whether the thorn was Paul’s eyesight, as I theorize, or something else, it does not matter. What matters is that God is there the entire time. We can plead for deliverance from that but in the end we should simply say, “Have thine own way, Lord.”
Dear Lord, thank you for the Way and your way of teaching us, even if it causes pain. May we be grateful for the thorns in our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church