Title: Grace in Thorn
Contents
♡♥♡ Grace in thorns / 2 Corinthians 12:1-10
*** Introduction
“Pastor, it hurts me too much. Why do we have to take up this cross? Is there no place that is completely free from these difficult trials and problems?” He sighed and asked for counseling to help him find a comfortable life. Then the pastor said: “There is a world where there is no wound or pain at all. Go to the cemetery. There is only one place in the world where there is no hurt or pain.”
Is everything prosperous and peaceful in your life? Or are there things like chronic physical pain or thorns that break your heart? Perhaps there is no one without the pain of life. But God's thoughts about man are life and peace. That is, it works well. It says in Jeremiah 29:11. “I, the LORD, saith. I know that my thoughts toward you are not calamity, but peace, to give you hope for your future.” Then why do people who fear God suffer like thorns?
The best perfume in the world is said to be 'Rose Perfume', which is collected from roses. This perfume comes from roses that grow in the Balkans.
Do you know when the fragrance of roses is most intense? It's between midnight and 2 o'clock. The roses that are picked to make perfume are said to be collected at this time. This is because roses are most intense and emit a large amount of fragrance in this short time of the night. If it is picked during the day when the sun is shining, it is said that only 40% of the rose scent is produced.
A dark night without light. Roses are said to give off their most intense fragrance in the middle of the night when there is cold air when all plants stop working. In addition, roses must be grown in fertile soil to produce good flowers and have a stronger fragrance.
Flowers grown in greenhouses that are always safe, warm, and plentiful with nutrients and moisture do not produce their own strong fragrance. The same goes for humans. An extreme night of life that befalls people. True humanity is revealed in times of cold hardship. Even as Christians, the most beautiful fragrance of faith is radiated through suffering. This means that without suffering there is no true humanity and no fragrance of faith. So, ‘No cross No crown!’, there is no glory without the cross.
Apostle Paul, a great believer and leader, also had a chronic disease in the body. Although it is not mentioned directly through the Bible, it seems to have been a 'headache' or 'eye sore' from indirect words. In his letter to the Galatian church, Paul said, “If it had been possible, you would have plucked out even your eyes and gave me” (Galatians 4:15).
The pain was so severe that Paul described it as “a thorn in the flesh, an angel of Satan. Paul prayed three times to God to take away this pain. In response to Paul's prayer, God said, "My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness.” He refused.
1. There is a purpose God gives to life.
The thorns appear in many ways. Chronic physical illness, environmental pain, pain caused by people such as family or neighbors, pain caused by poverty or hardship, etc. There are several. But the thorns that God allows are for our good. It may be painful and painful right now, but it is beneficial for eternal life and life. Hebrews 5:8 says, “Even though he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered.” In the text too, Paul said that he gave a thorn in order not to become arrogant because the grace he received from God was so great. By putting a thorn in the weakest part where Satan can pierce a hole, He made us think and defend ourselves all the time.
The world-famous musician ‘Handel’ was said to be in very poor health. ‘Hallelujah’, which he composed, is a famous song containing the anecdote that the king suddenly woke up while listening to the performance. It is said that he spent all his fortune to cure the disease, and even borrowed money from others to get treatment. But he could not find health and he could not pay the money back. In the end, he was imprisoned in a miserable state of being paralyzed. Then he was unhappy and in pain. However, it was in this prison that the immortal masterpiece ‘Hallelujah’ was composed.
Roosevelt is the only person in the United States who has served as president four times. He, too, was physically disabled due to polio. However, he overcame all obstacles and left many achievements as a leader of a world superpower.
These were all people who felt God's love and were grateful. The reason that they were able to leave great works despite their physical pain was because they realized and thanked God for the grace contained in the thorns.
In Lamentations 3:33, God said, “It is not your intention that you should suffer and grieve throughout your life.” Then why did God give the thorns of life like this suffering and pain to the saints who are trying to live according to the will of God? The psalmist confessed in Psalm 119:71, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.” In 1 Peter 4:1, “For Christ already suffered in the flesh, With the same heart, you too, make your armor. For he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased to sin.” It was not given to you to fall into temptation. In other words, the purpose of the thorn in life is God's love to help us depend on God and draw closer to God.
2. We must hear the voice of God in the thorns of life.
The Apostle Paul said, “My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul immediately realized and thanked him. “Therefore, on the contrary, with great joy I will boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. Therefore, for the sake of Christ I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, privations, persecutions, and hardships, for when I am weak, then I am strong.” In other words, he realized that God's power would not only be revealed more greatly because of his weakness, but he would not be proud of the grace he had received.
If you make us realize our sins through the thorn, we must solve our sins through repentance and conversion. If the path of life is set wrong, you must turn to the right life. Like the apostle Paul, we do not deviate from God's grace, and if it is for God's greater power, we must receive it with gratitude.
All of this is God's grace and love toward us. We are saved through faith in Jesus Christ and become children of God, but we are not perfectly righteous. Just because you are saved doesn't mean you suddenly became a righteous person or an angel. It is about correcting, renewing, and sanctifying numerous shortcomings one by one.
Now let's get stronger. The God who wants us to be well is with us. Frustration, regret, resentment, complaint, and guilt are all just obstacles on our way to God. Let's get rid of negative and hurtful thoughts and move forward with joy and gratitude in our lives that the Lord is fulfilling.