After the apostle Paul pleaded with God to take away his thorn, God responded, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.
What was Paul's thorn? We don't know. Whatever it was, we can be sure that this was no minor irritation. Paul's thorn in the flesh was a torment day-in and day-out. He was in severe pain.
In 2 Corinthians 11, the apostle Paul talks about the horrendous things he endured—he was shipwrecked, stoned, flogged, imprisoned, and more. He experienced hunger, thirst, sleeplessness, and nakedness, and yet, through all of this, he never prayed to God, "God, take these things away from me." Not once do we see him praying that these things would go away. Meanwhile, he persists in prayer over this thorn, whatever it was.
It is no accident that the Bible did not tell us what his specific problem was. The Holy Spirit left this out deliberately so that all who go through suffering could identify with Paul. This godly man quietly asked the Lord to intervene and deliver him quickly, just like we often do—and there is nothing wrong with that request. However, God's response was, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." And that answer is true for every one of His children.
Prayer: God, thank You for Paul's example of trusting Your grace in his life as he struggled with his thorn in the flesh. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
"That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10).
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