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2 Corinthians 12:8–10
“For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (v. 10).
We do not know the exact nature of the “thorn” in Paul’s flesh that God allowed to teach the Apostle humility (2 Cor. 12:7). Far from being a problem, however, the vagueness of Paul’s reference is an advantage to us. It suggests that there are any number of trials that the Lord can use to make us more humble servants of His kingdom. Whatever “thorn” we have, God can use it to help us grow in holiness.
The Lord can use our “thorns” to humble us, but these thorns can also work in our sanctification to drive us to prayer. Paul says that he prayed “three times” for God to remove the thorn that troubled him (v. 8). This does not necessarily mean that the Apostle prayed only on three occasions total for relief. He very well may be using “three times” as a euphemism for continual prayer. Pious Jews, building on the example of biblical figures such as Daniel, prayed three times a day in the first century (Dan. 6:10). Thus, Paul may be telling us that for a time he prayed daily for God to relieve him of his thorn.
Notably, Jesus prayed three times in the garden, asking God to let His cup of suffering pass from Him, but only according to His Father’s will. Commentators note that Paul may be intentionally recalling our Savior’s prayers in Gethsemane, especially in light of the answer that God gave Paul. Just as the Father did not let our Lord’s suffering pass by, He did not remove the thorn from Paul’s flesh. Instead, God promised to be with Paul and to sustain and strengthen him in his weakness (2 Cor. 12:8). Is this not what happened with Jesus as well, as He was sustained in His suffering on the cross so that He could purchase our salvation? Moreover, the cross and the accompanying resurrection of Jesus were the signal display of divine power (see 1 Cor. 1:17–19). Paul’s thorn gave him an opportunity to put the power of God on display in weakness in imitation of the much greater revelation of our Creator’s power on the cross.
Because of this, Paul boasted in his suffering. That was the mark of his Apostleship, for in his suffering the strength of God was made manifest. Matthew Henry comments, “This is a Christian paradox: when we are weak in ourselves, then we are strong in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; when we see ourselves weak in ourselves, then we go out of ourselves to Christ, and are qualified to receive strength from him, and experience most of the supplies of divine strength and grace.”
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Like Paul, we may certainly pray for God to relieve our suffering. But as Paul experienced, God may choose not to do so, or He may choose to allow us to suffer for a long while before we find relief. In either case, we must take care not to become bitter but to ask our Father to help us grow in Christ and to display His power in our weakness.
For Further Study
- 1 Samuel 17
- 2 Corinthians 4:7–18