I was involved in a conversation this week about learning disabilities. We talked about some famous people who had learning disabilities like Alexander Graham Bell, Albert Einstein, George Patton, etc. We talked about how these people changed the world. Then a statement was made something like – think what they could have done it they hadn’t had a learning disability.
I want to tie that idea into what I was reading this morning in 2 Corinthians 12. Paul talks about his thorn in the flesh. No one really knows what this was but we know that Paul prayed repeatedly for God to take it away and yet God didn’t.
Here are verses 7 – 10.
“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." 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.”
It seems pretty apparent here that Paul believes that his thorn in flesh was to keep him dependent on God. It was to keep him humble and keep him focused. It was to remind him that he wasn’t in control of his life. It was to force him to his knees in prayer.
The end of this passage talks about Christ’s power being made perfect in our weaknesses. This is how we can thank God for the problems in our lives. Like Paul, each of us has something in our lives that we wish we didn’t have. Something that forces us to trust God. We need to be thankful for those thorns. They keep us from being prideful and arrogant. They force is to lean on God’s grace and power.
What would Paul have been like without his “thorn?” No one can really say but it is possible that he wouldn’t have been the great apostle and missionary that he was. It is possible that he wouldn’t have gone in his missionary journeys. It is possible that he could have become self-reliant rather than totally dependent on God. Remember, all of these are guesses. The point is God allowed Paul to have this “thorn” for a reason. Paul focused on God and his grace and because of that God used him in a mighty way.
Now, how does all that tie back into our discussion on learning disabilities? Each child is a unique creation by God. Each one was created exactly according to God’s plan. Each one is loved by God and has a purpose in life.
As a parent of a child with a learning disability, it is easy to pray for God to take that away. What is hard is accepting that she is that way because God created her to be that way. Accepting that God doesn’t make mistakes and that her disability is there for a reason. That reason may be unbeknownst to me but is known by God.
Her learning disability is a part of who she is. It will affect what she does and who she becomes. I believe that God has given that to her so that he can mold her into exactly who He wants her to be. So that she can accomplish His purposes for her life.
I believe that His ways are better than my ways.
8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.
9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)
So what is your “thorn?” Is it a learning disability, an illness, an injury? Is it unemployment, a family conflict, a bad habit?
It doesn’t really matter what it is, it is there to keep you humble. It is there to force you to rely on God and experience His power. It is there so you can experience his peace and his grace.
It is also there so that you remember Christ’s thorns. He, who was God, willingly went to the cross for you. He paid for your sin. He wore the crown of thorns and had blood running down his face for you. He endured all of that so that you could experience forgiveness and grace.
Be thankful for your thorns and for the Savior who loves you enough to let you have them.
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