2 Corinthians 12:8; Besought the Lord

2 Corinthians 12:8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

The thorn in the Apostle Paul’s flesh caused him much pain and discomfort. It disrupted him from physical restfulness having to endure such constant affliction. He prayed that the Lord might be merciful to remove this thorn. He sought the Lord thrice. The Lord deemed it fit that the thorn would remain with him. Whether it is a sickness, a physical anomaly that the Lord allows him to live with, he testifies that God’s grace is sufficient.

Our afflictions keep us vulnerable and thus dependent upon our God by which God’s glory rest. It seemed to be the Lord’s way of connecting and cultivating our souls to fulfill His eternal purpose for our lives. When the weight is lifted, like the sponge or the cushion, it bounces back to its original state of fallenness.

Looking at the Apostle Peter’s writing, we find a word of encouragement – 1 Peter 1:6-9 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

The encouragement for the child of God is to rejoice in the Lord in the midst of our trials, maintaining our ways before Him. Amen.