2 Corinthians 12:7-10 "Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given me..."

"Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given 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 12:7-10).

Question:

I just want to make sure I understand this correctly. It seems that the theme here is belief during struggle. It seems removing the "thorn" would have made Paul's life much easier to deal. Would it be safe to say that my belief is made stronger through the challenges of life and experiences of God's grace rather than through the healing of all my problems?

Comment:

Well, yes and no. Paul is being quite melodramatic in this passage, defending himself and his teachings against other teachers with differing views who are apparently proving persuasive within the Corinth congregation Paul founded. I love the way, earlier in this same chapter, he insists he would never stoop to boasting about himself, while making it very clear that he has a lot to boast about. The important spiritual point he makes here is, as you suggest, that life's challenges are not necessarily obstacles to our spiritual purpose; they may, indeed, be an essential part of that purpose. It is never the case that we must 'heal' ourselves of whatever afflictions we may suffer in order to begin to express our spiritual purpose. Our purpose may well lie in embracing the affliction and finding in it an opportunity to feel and affirm the Presence and Power of God. This is not to say, however, that submissive acceptance is the preferred spiritual attitude. We are not victims; we are creators. The power to heal or transform our challenges lies within us. So we don't submit to thorns and afflictions as the will of God. We rather embrace them as opportunities to express more of our innate Christ nature—perhaps by healing from them, perhaps by expressing through them. This is why, I think, Jesus so often asked "Do you want to be healed?" before his personal demonstrations. On the physical plane it seems like a dumb question with an obvious answer. Spiritually, however, Jesus was well aware that the experience of affliction could be powerful and important. If our constant prayer is simply "Show me the good," then we will either find the creative spiritual purpose in our challenges, or be guided through the challenge to a positive and affirmative healing.

  Blessings!

Rev. Ed