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Tuesday, June 9, 2020 - Join Pastor John for a Daily Devotional

June 9, 2020 by Rev. John Hartman

“Thanks for the Thorns”

Last month, I finished up my Adult Zoom study on the Book of James. I offer my thanks to those who tuned in, and for those friends of mine who helped me lead it. We finished up with James 5 (13-16), and specifically, the subject of prayer and suffering.

I think we would admit that to give thanks in every situation in life would be very difficult. When our bodies are in pain, or we’ve lost our job, or a loved one has made some poor personal choices, or a cherished relationship has been broken, we tend not to feel so grateful. However, the Bible teaches that we can still be thankful to God, because He gives us the strength, even when we feel weak.

The Apostle Paul writes in II Corinthians 12:7-10 about praying that God would take away, what he calls, a “thorn in his flesh.” It was some physical malady which tormented him. And, that’s the word he used, -- “torment.” We don’t know what it was, or how long Paul had been dealing with this infirmity. All we know was that it was bad, and Paul wanted it gone. He says, “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.” But, each time, God said, “no.” Instead of a healing, God revealed to Paul that He had a purpose in it all. After Paul prays, the Lord said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” So, God didn’t heal Paul. But, what God tells Paul is that He was using his infirmity to teach Paul to have a greater dependence on Him! And that’s why Paul wrote, “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.”

The Scottish author and preacher, George Matheson, who was blind, once prayed, “I have thanked Thee a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my ‘thorn.’ Show me that I have climbed to Thee by the path of pain. Show me that my tears have made my rainbow.” Let’s make sure we surrender ourselves to the Lord and remember that He is working His purposes out for our good. And finally, to thank Him even when we are pierced by “thorns.”