Unexpected Rewards
And because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me – to keep me from exalting myself! 2 Corinthians 12:7
For This Reason – Do you have a thorn in the flesh? If you answer, “Yes,” then you may be experiencing a necessary element of God’s great plan for your life. If you answer, “No,” then perhaps you have not really opened yourself to God’s restraining process.
Our appreciation of God’s intervention in life is often exactly backwards. We read about the thorn in the flesh and immediately assume that it was a terrible thing for Paul as it would be a terrible thing for us. We don’t want thorns, especially ones that are messengers of Satan. We grudgingly concede that Paul’s thorn brought him into contact with God’s all-sufficient grace, but given the choice, we would just as soon not have to be stuck with barbs. We want ease and comfort. Unfortunately, God often accommodates our unenlightened wishes. He does grant us lives of ease and, in the process, we are prevented from experiencing the surpassing greatness of revelations. Why? Because we are not willing to accept the unexpected rewards of nearness to God.
The tiny Greek word, dio (translated as “for this reason”) means, “therefore.” It is the lynchpin word of this verse, but is usually ignored. We get so emotionally hooked by the idea of a thorn in the flesh that we forget that God has a purpose for all the events in life. In fact, we probably stumble over Paul’s assertion that God sent the thorn as a messenger of Satan. What? Do you mean that God used this satanic barb to accomplish a divine end? Yes, that’s what it says. The whole reason for the thorn is to prevent the possibility of arrogance. “For this reason” means “in order to stop me from being arrogant.” The purpose of the thorn is so important that Paul says it twice. God hates arrogance. Arrogance is possible even in the midst of surpassing revelations. Therefore, God moves to prevent arrogance by giving us an unexpected reward for the revelations we desire. Thorns!
Do you want to see through God’s eyes? Do you want to be drawn into the heavenlies? Do you want to breathe the rarified air of the Kingdom? Then be prepared to suffer thorns. God knows that even the best of us are capable of turning His greatest glories into selfish advancement and ego trips. So He gives His great revelations, but with thorns. He draws us as close as we dare to go, but with nails in the hands. He lifts us up, but with a spear in the side. He is the crucified God and unless you are willing to bear the cross with thorns, you will never experience the depths of His glory.
Now ask yourself, “Am I carrying the thorn of close encounter, or have I avoided the barbs and lost the vision?”
