When the Answer is a Thorn
Notes
Transcript
A splinter- quite the annoying pain, right? Like a dull repetitive ache that happens anytime you use or touch the part of your body with the splinter. The pain is uncomfortable and annoying, and normally the only thing you can do about it is remove the splinter- until then you just have to suffer through it.
Paul talks about a splinter- or a thorn- in this passage. Now, we do not know specifically what the torn was. Some have said maybe a physical ailment like a stutter, persistent seizures, or some kind of pain; others have said maybe it was a mental illness like depression or anxiety; others have said it was a spiritual battle he was fighting inside himself- no matter what it was it is evident is was something he fought all the time and brought lots of pain into his life.
The Scriptures tell us that Paul prayed- pleaded as the Bible says- with the Lord three times to take the thorn away- and there was no change. The Lord did not take away the pain.
Have you been there? Begging God to take something away? Pleading with him for the healing? And nothing changes? That can certainly be a painful place to be.
We might never know why God does not give us the healing we are asking for, but there are a few things in this Scripture that might reveal the heart of God to us; things that we can hold tightly to in the midst of these times.
First. notice what this thorn in the flesh is connected to- Paul is talking about being caught up and seeing heavenly and divine revelations. He is, for some reason, talking about his own experience in the third person. Paul experienced some kind of out of body episode that called him up to heaven where he heard things from the Lord that he was unable to share. Could there be a connection here?
In his commentary Paul Barnett presented an interesting thought- he said “Extreme religious experiences feed the ego” and suggested that Paul’s own experiences- from the Damascus Road to this heavenly experience might have been the reason for God’s allowing this “thorn” to be present in his life. That this thorn that Paul had- and some of the thorns that we experience too- could be a reminder from God to not be spiritually proud of arrogant.
We know that God does not want us to become spiritually arrogant. In Romans 12:3 we read “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment” God wants us to be level headed when it comes to his work in us- never being haughty about who we are in Jesus.
The problem, of course, is that many people struggle with that exact thing. They take the glory of God and try to make it their own. They take the work of Jesus in their life and try to claim it and make it all about them and their work and effort. They adopt a legalistic, holier than thou attitude. Instead of grace and mercy their hearts become filled with pride and they begin to push away people they see as “less holy’ than them.
There are times when God does not heal our body, or grant our requests because his purpose in them is greater than the healing we desire. Yes, the life of a Christian is wrapped around this truth- God needs your weakness more than God needs your strength.
This is exactly what verse 9 says, right? “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” God’s work and power cannot be perfected in your life in midst of spiritual arrogance and pride. If you are so obsessed with your own religiosity and your own need to be in control- then God’s word will lack power for you.
Dwight Lehman once heard a missionary tell how he was trying to do translation work in a particular tribe and found it hard to translate the word "pride," or at least the concept. He finally came to the idea to use their word or words for the ears’ being too far apart. In other words, he conveyed the idea of an "inflated head," which is probably hard to improve on when we talk of the problem of pride.
There are many times when we are fine letting Jesus into our hearts- but we need to let him into our big heads too! We need to remember that God is the powerful one, the sovereign one, he is the glorious one.
Also, notice that Paul says that he is content in his weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. This seems counterintuitive, doesn’t it? That one would be content in such circumstances.
How could Paul say such a thing- believe such a thing- live in such a way? Because he was sure that God was in control. Contentment comes when we are convinced that what is happening is the will of God. .
Paul could be content with a thorn because he trusted God for his will to be done- and in this situation God’s will was to leave the thorn. It’s a mirror of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, who after begging his Father to allow him to bypass the cross, ended his prayer with “not my will, but thy will be done.”
You know, I have come to the point in my life that I think that it takes less faith to get what you want out of prayer than to walk through life when your prayers do not generate the answers you want.
Remember Jesus’ conversation about faith with his disciples in Matthew 17? It ends with him telling them “He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Nothing will be impossible for you- says Jesus. Yes, the mountain may move- all things are possible. But even if the mountain does not move, you will be able to climb that mountain and live- because all things are possible. Yes, God may cure your cancer- but he also may just give you the strength to walk it out with grace, hope, and dignity- both things are the result of great faith. Yes, God may heal a broken relationship- or God may give you the peace to not gossip, hold a grudge, or badmouth the person- both are the result of great faith. Yes, God may give you a new job or raise to make more money; or God may teach you contentment with what you have- both are the result of great faith.
This is not the only time that Paul speaks of such contentment. In Phil 4:12-13; some of the most used Scripture in the Bible- Paul echo’s these sentiments
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Paul knew that the will of God would prevail; so if he was poor it would be because of God’s will, if he was rich it would be because of God’s will; if he was in prison that was in God’s will; and if he was free with would be in God’s will. If we place our lives in the will of God and stay faithful to Christ then we know the will of God will prevail.
It‘s funny, because many times Phil 4:13 is used as a way of motivating Christians towards changing a situation. We use it as a way of motivating Christian athletes, we tell it to our young folks if they are getting ready for a big test; we use it when someone is getting ready for a big treatment or surgery at the hosptial- and those are all ok applications- to a point. But whats funny about that is that is the exact opposite reason Paul wrote these words. Paul wrote these verses in a midst of a situation he was pretty sure was not going to change- he was in prison- and Paul was saying- This is probably not got to change, but its okay because God will give me what I need to be in prison because God is still good. This verse is rooted in our ability to accept the worst of life and find God in it; not our ability to transform everything that is bad in our world.
In the words of Jim Elliot “Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.
We must remember that living a life full of answered prayer is not necessarily a life that is always getting what we want when we pray. No, a life of answered prayer is a life that is open to seeing God’s answers in everything; and then accepting, walking in, and even praising God in the midst of the answer- even when the answer is not what we want.