“When I am weak, then am I strong”


BIBLE READING:2 Corinthians 12

We don't need to discuss the nature of Paul's thorn in the flesh.  It is enough that he calls it "a stake."  This word in Greek can mean "a pointed piece of wood, a pale, a stake."  Whatever it was, it was of the flesh.  There have been many conjectures as to what the thorn was:  Tertullian, earache; Chrysostom, headache; Cyprian, many grievous bodily torments.  It is enough that Paul calls it "a thorn (stake)," as though he had been impaled.  It must have been very painful.  It must surely have been physical, because he could not have prayed three times for the removal of a moral taint and been refused.  It came from Satan, was permitted by God, just as in the case of Job, to buffet his servant.  It is likely that he suffered from weak eyes, or some distressing form of ophthalmia, hence the eagerness of the Galatian converts to give him their eyes. (Gal 4:15)
God doesn't take away our thorns, but He communicates sufficient grace.  He always answers prayer, though not as we would expect.  "My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness."  That grace is sufficient when friends forsake and when enemies pursue, sufficient to make you strong against an infuriated crowd or a tyrannical judge, sufficient for excessive physical exertion and spiritual conflict, sufficient to enable us to work even though health and vigor may be impaired.  The very weakness of our nature is the condition God chooses to manifest His strength.

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