“…if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think better of me than what is seen in me or heard from me, even considering the exceptional character of the revelations. Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given to me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.”
(2 Corinthians 12: 6-10 NRSV)
My ‘thorn in the flesh’ began decades ago. It took a little time to realize I was suffering from gout… and suffering barely covers the intensity of the pain! Imagine a bedsheet simply touching your toe in the middle of the night and responding with unbearable pain. That’s gout and it will be of part of my life as long as I live. I am in good company. Charles Spurgeon suffered from gout, along with other debilitating conditions, for most of his short life. OK, on the other side, King Herod may have had Saturnine Gout. Gout is caused by uric acid which builds up “crystals” (more like little torture demons, a phrase colourfully suggested by someone other than me) that produce intense pain.
Biblically, I look to Paul and his chronicling of a condition he describes in 2 Corinthians 12. Paul refers to his condition as ‘a thorn in the flesh’, a phrase used today to denote any continual complaint that annoys or troubles or gives you pain… Paul’s ‘thorn in the flesh’ became the metaphor for the difficulties he faced in his life, and the lessons he learned from them. You will find preachers drawing out lessons based on this passage, lessons about accepting limitations, boasting in weaknesses, offering empathy and compassion to those in distress, enduring adversity, and yes, resisting the devil (remember my little torture demons above!) Paul’s story is told in 2 Corinthians 12:7–10 and may have been a contributing factor in his ongoing ministry in the name of Jesus. I know how gout (my thorn in the flesh) defines my life both during flare-ups and when adapting my everyday life to minimize gout’s effect. I avoid various foods and drinks, I exercise every day and I drink copious amounts of water!
So you may want to ask your inner being about the place and purpose of those afflictions that come to you as thorns in the flesh. Can they be transformed by your attitude and your faith that ‘all things work together for good’. Maybe George Matheson’s prayer can help you when you realize that thorns are part of your life. George Matheson was a blind minister of the Church of Scotland:
Prayer: “My dear God, I have never thanked you for my thorns. I have thanked you a thousand times for my roses but not once for my thorns. I have always looked forward to the place where I will be rewarded for my cross, but I have never thought of my cross as a present glory itself… Teach me, O lord, to glory in my cross. Teach me the value of my thorns. Show me how I have climbed to you through the path of pain. Show me it is through my tears I have seen my rainbow.’” (George Matheson)
Thought for the day:
1. A Pox of this Gout, or a Gout of this Pox; for the one or th’other plays the Rogue with my great Toe . . . A good Wit will make use of anything; I will turn Diseases to commodity. — William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part II. I, ii.
2. “… we don’t have to fear or hide from our weaknesses and vulnerabilities. We can find our strength in and through them.” – Adam Russell Taylor
Kenn Stright
(To access the entire “Where Is God When it Hurts” mini-series, please click here!)