FOCUSED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.

2 Corinthians 12:5-8

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Paul had amassed quite a reputation as a Christian. After Jesus confronted him on the road to Damascus, prompting an end to persecuting Christian believers and joining their number instead, Paul dedicated himself to the cause of Christ. He was the most dedicated servant of the Great Commission, willing to go wherever the Lord led him to share the Gospel with others. He planted and served as a mentor to church after church as shown by the many letter he penned which comprise a good part of the New Testament. If there was such a thing as a ranking system for Christian apostles, Paul would clearly be ranked number one. Certainly, given his apostolic stature, it would have been easy for Paul to be a narcissist, considering himself superior to anyone else who was obedient to the call to make disciples of all nations.

And yet, he was a man of great humility. We have seen this through our study of 2 Corinthians, especially in chapters 11 and 12. Paul refused to boast in anything else but his weaknesses because he wanted to keep the attention on the Lord who called him to evangelism. And in staying spiritually grounded, Paul was able to stay focused in the right direction.

Of course, the Lord played a role in this. As we look at today’s passage, He permitted something to happen to Paul in order to keep him from being conceited. Look again at our verses for today:

I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.  2 Corinthians 12:5-8

You may recall the story of Job. He was a faithful and devout man of God who had experienced a bounty of blessings. Satan was convinced that Job was only dedicated to God because he had everything going his way. He believed that Job would change his feelings toward God if he faced adversity.

On the other hand, God had full trust and confidence in Job. He was so sure that Job’s faith wouldn’t crack under pressure that he permitted Satan to bring calamity and suffering on him. And you probably know how the story ended. Job remained faithful to God and in return found himself restored and better off after his afflictions than he was before.

Given the language we find Paul using in our passage today, we could say that the Lord had given Job a thorn to bear and Satan was the thorn manipulator.

Fast forward to this second letter to the Corinthian church and we find the Lord allowing Satan to torment Paul by creating a thorn in His apostle’s side. This thorn wasn’t literal in nature and therefore couldn’t be extracted and disposed of. Rather, the thorn here is figurative and spiritual, a source of constant torment that kept Paul from becoming arrogant and self-centered.

And so rather than boast in himself, the Apostle Paul bragged about the very Lord who called him to service, acknowledging his power, wisdom, and ultimate authority over all creation.

His thorn kept him inclined this way.

Now, we don’t know what the Lord allowed to torture Paul but we don’t need to know its exact nature. We only need to realize that Paul remained humble before the Lord because of the anguish his thorn brought.

Today, Christian believers still experience the unpleasant impact of the thorns of Satan that God permits to prevent his servants to be conceited. Like Paul, we shouldn’t begrudge our thorn but rather give thanks for the humbling reality it brings to us, a humbling reality that we only do great things despite the sinners that we are because the Lord permits us to do so. He always works to keep us focused in the right direction.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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