2 Corinthians 12:7-10 – To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
As I ponder upon this passage, here are some of my thoughts on “thorn in the flesh”: “Thorn in the flesh” is something God gave to us and it is beyond our control to “remove” it. This “thorn in the flesh” makes us uncomfortable, irritation and much pain. The purpose of this “thorn in the flesh” is for us to keep relying on God’s strength and grace.
I think God also gave me a “thorn in the flesh” and that is my inherited Thalassemia. In short, Thalassemia is the name of a group of genetic blood disorders. For more about Thalassemia, you can read it at www.thalassemia.org.
I know I am a Thalassemia carrier many years ago. I think only after a few years when I start working, I began to ‘tormented’ by this “thorn in the flesh”. Maybe before that, I don’t feel much because I am still young. The “suffering” is regular fatigue and dizziness in spite of my regular exercise.
Many times I wished and I prayed I can ‘fully’ recovered from this dizziness problem but it is still there always. Although there are certain things can be done to make me feel better, but it is still could not be completed ‘removed’. So, I guess I just need to live with it and see that it was given to me by God, so that I can always rely on God, for His strength is sufficient for me and His power is made perfect in weakness.
