Clearly, you’re reading this so I don’t have to tell you that I had a little safety measure installed on my blog. As my daughter so eloquently pointed out, I’ve forfeited any opportunity of being published now that I’m not accessible to the world. Um,ok….I’ll take my chances.
So I thank you for taking a few moments to create a user name and password for lil’ ole me. Truly. Now let’s talk.
I am suffering a thorn. If you are a “religious” person, you are familiar with this affliction. Paul wrote this about his own thorn in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9,
“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’.”
As the ladies in my group and I read this weeks section from a study by Angela Thomas, it turns out we all recognize the thorn in our flesh. I don’t know that I had ever named it the thorn but it certainly pinches like one….sharp and relentless. As surely as I know what my thorn is, I know that outside of God taking it away, it is well lodged. Whenever I forget about it and move the wrong way, I am reminded of it. The sharp pinch.
As Angela wrote, “A thorn torments the soul with pain and doubt.”
Is your own thorn becoming more clear now? Do you have something in your life that torments your soul and you’re just simply unable to conquer its hold on you?
Here is mine. It is what drives my emotions, my fears and my anxiety.
My thorn in all of it’s glory and it will be with me until God chooses to remove it…or maybe it will always just be with me. I truly long to always remember that Satan means this for evil ~ to torment my soul ~ but that God will use it for good.
Maybe this insecurity makes me more sympathetic?
Maybe this insecurity prevents me from being arrogant?
No matter the reason, His grace is sufficient and there are others who suffer far greater thorns than myself.
Sometimes, it’s just about acceptance. Accepting our own thorns and being aware that others may have one, too. They may be very different from your own; one may suffer with pride or anger while another suffers with depression or addictions.
We are all imperfect but God can use us all for good. Each and every one of us.
Be blessed!
Amy
Amy,
As I sit here in tears, I am speechless. I have been struggling with this tremendously, more so very recently. As a matter of fact, it became so painfull over the past couple of hours that I have been pleading with God to remove this! By the way, this is the first time I have logged into your blog.
Anyway, I spent last weekend at Tres Dias and what do you think the theme was for the weekend??? “His grace is sufficient” Imagine that!!
As I have been thinking, “Why is God not using me?”, “Where did He go?”, “I must not be good enough”, “How bad of a Christian I must be if He doesn’t want to use me anymore”. . . I was lead straight to this blog! Praise God!
I am not happy that you have this thorn but God used you to speak to me about this so there is hope for me!! 🙂 Thank you for writing this! I am going to share this on my facebook page for my other sisters in Christ.
See you at church! I have a hug waiting for you!
What an affirmation of our God ~ He gives us what we need when we need it. His grace IS sufficient! On a personal note, don’t underestimate the work you are doing ~you are lit from within. I recognized it from the first time I met you. He is there. You are being “used” for His glory ~ I promise! Thank you for logging in, thank you for giving me feedback, thank you for being you!! P.S. Hope to see you soon for the hug! 🙂