In Weakness
“…To keep me from exalting myself, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me – to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might leave me. ”
Much ink has been spilled speculating about Paul’s thorn in the flesh. Was his thorn some kind of speech impediment? Impaired vision from his temporary blindness? Antagonism from his personal opponents? A sinful temptation?
Spiritual, emotional, or physical, Paul’s thorn in the flesh was a serious and prolonged struggle. One from which he repeatedly pleaded to be freed.
Like many, I relate deeply to Paul’s pleadings for freedom. A bout with COVID almost three years ago left me with chronic pain that comes and goes unpredictably. Some days I could hike a mountain; other days I’d be a fool to try.
As I struggle to accept this physical weakness, I worry about the future. Will I ever fully recover? Is it a mistake to pursue a vocation overseas? Will my health sustain me through the rigors of full-time ministry? Like Paul, I have often pleaded with God to free me from this weakness. Or at least to explain why He doesn’t. Why, God?
Anyone with a chronic illness or life-altering condition can relate. Suffering is difficult enough in its own right, but especially when it’s for no apparent reason. What purpose could there be in weakness that curtails our freedom and hinders our ability to serve? Wouldn’t we be more effective if we were bursting with health?
I find it comforting that Paul, one of the most influential apostles and the author of a large portion of the New Testament, asked similar questions.
Paul mentions his thorn in the flesh in a letter to the Corinthian church, whose heads had been turned by false teachers. Refuting these teachers’ version of the gospel, Paul launches into a sarcastic recital of his own apostolic credentials. First, he trots out his status as a Hebrew and an Israelite (2 Corinthians 11:22). Next, he lists the trials he has endured for the sake of his ministry. Then he alludes to “visions and revelations of the Lord” and ascending to the “third heaven” (2 Corinthians 12:1–4). Finally, the anticlimax: Paul’s thorn in the flesh. A serious weakness.
“Concerning this I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might leave me,” he writes (v. 8). And God, instead of saying, “I will remove your thorn, Paul,” or “here is a theological explanation for your affliction, Paul,” responded with this:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness” (v. 9).
For those in Jewish ministry, sometimes our greatest struggle is less an internal limitation, and more a sense of our own weakness before external opposition. We often face strong resistance to the gospel in Jewish communities, who view evangelism as an attack on their Jewishness. Though we may feel overwhelmed by this, God is not fazed. Paul himself once viewed belief in Jesus as antithetical to the Jewish faith and went so far as to arrest believers and bring them to trial. But God was no more hindered by Paul’s initial opposition than He was later by Paul’s thorn in the flesh. Whether our weakness is internal or external, God’s strength surpasses all.
Paul tells the Corinthians, “Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Messiah may dwell in me. Therefore, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in distresses, in persecutions, in difficulties, in behalf of Messiah; for when I am weak, then I am strong” (vv. 9–10).
This doesn’t mean Paul’s thorn in the flesh did not continue to trouble him. It doesn’t mean his life or ministry became easier. Indeed, we know Paul spent his final years under house arrest before dying a martyr.
What it does mean is that God sustained Paul through every trial he endured. And to the present day, millions of believers in Jesus can attest that Paul’s thorn in the flesh, whatever it was, did not hinder God’s ability to work powerfully through him.
The same is true for you and me. Our failings, our weaknesses, and our struggles may hinder us, but they do not make us less powerful instruments in God’s hands. He blesses us with gifts and talents, and works through our strengths, but He can do just as much through our limitations. Not only is His work unhindered by them, His power is perfected in our weakness.
I will always miss the health I took for granted three years ago. I will continue to struggle with my limitations. I will keep praying for healing. But I will also meditate on 2 Corinthians 12, which assures me that my weakness does not disqualify me from serving God.
Where we are weak, He is strong.
Written by Miriam, Life in Messiah Communications Coordinator
Do you believe God’s power is perfected in your weakness?
Have you been impacted by someone who struggles with a thorn in the flesh? Ask how you can pray for them in their struggles and encourage them in the ways you see God at work through them.
Pray for God’s power to be at work in the Jewish community around the world. Pray that eyes will be opened to the Lord Jesus’ identity as the Jewish Messiah and hearts will trust Him as Savior.