Have you ever heard the expression “_____ is like a thorn in my side.”? Your fill-in-the-blank may be a job, person, or any type of situation that is causing difficulty for you at that time.
Years ago, while at the beach, Cole was running on the dock barefoot. While running on the old wooden boards he ended up with a splinter in his foot. The splinter was in there pretty good. He was young and didn’t want to endure the pain of getting that piece of wood, which was deep into his foot, out. He had seen us use a needle before to dig a splinter out and was not up to that challenge. He chose to walk in pain for a few more hours. Every cautious step he took was a reminder of how he shouldn’t run without shoes on the old wooden dock. Later that evening, Cole decided to attempt to be brave and allow us to remove the splinter from his foot. A few deep breaths, a little blood, and a couple of tears later, the fragment of wood was gone and the pain subsided. Flip-flops were put on his feet every time after that incident. A lesson was learned for the moment.
Sometimes, we are given “thorns” in our lives, but they aren’t as easily removed, if at all, as Cole’s splinter. We can beg and plead with God to remove it. Sometimes, He may do so, but other times He may choose to leave it to remind us that we need to rely on Him at all times.
Okay, God must really want us to get this. God is reminding us again in scripture that:
- He is in control
- We are not our own
- We will go through troubles
- Those tough times bring us to our knees
- Our strength comes from Him
In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Paul gives us his testimony on how he remembers these points:
Paul said: “…to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.” (vv. 7-8)
God said: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” (v. 9a)
Paul said: “Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.” (vv. 9-10)
Paul realized that when he is put in difficult situations his reliance is totally on God. So Paul decided to face his problems straight on and allow God to take over. His faith was made strong in his weakest moments.
Yes, you and I will have limitations that happen in life. Just remember to turn to Jesus. Sometimes, well all the time, you just have to F.R.O.G it…Fully Rely On God!
Blessings to you.
September 23, “Walking in teh Word”