On a recent walk, I got grabbed by the thorns of a Himalayan Blackberry bush as I passed by. They are mostly dormant now, but the thorns still grab the unwary.
These blackberry bushes produce delicious, prolific berries, but are highly invasive. They are the bane of many landowners and park operators.
Kathy and I joke that the blackberries are going to take over the world. They pop up in random spots and thrive. They crawl up and over anything in their path, including trees, cars, and fences. Their long branches hang down to snag on anything that passes by, and wherever those tendrils hit the ground, they root, and a new plant is started.
Getting grabbed (again) got me thinking about a familiar passage in the Bible. After receiving revelations from God, Paul writes:
So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations,a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:6-10
There is a lot of speculation about what form that “thorn” from Satan’s messenger actually took. Was it a form of illness, chronic pain, a besetting sin? I don’t know, and scholars much more learned and wiser than I have debated it. If God had thought it crucial that we know, He would have been clearer.
What is clear is God’s response to Paul’s complaining, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
God’s grace is sufficient. No matter what thorns or problems we face, God’s grace is sufficient to carry the believer.
Everyone faces times of suffering and trial. It has been said that Christians face more than non-believers because our faith sets us up as targets. We’re not immune. Being a Christian doesn’t give us a get out of jail free card that allows us to bypass pain and suffering.
Quite the opposite, in fact. God’s grace allows thorns to strengthen us and make us more like Jesus. Paul writes:
“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5
We can go to God for relief from everything, but if it doesn’t happen how or when we want, we can still rejoice. His grace is enough.
Enough? For what? His grace is sufficient for whatever we face. His grace will outlast any suffering, trials, or thorns we will encounter.
Rejoice for God’s abundant, merciful, and perfect grace.
Kevin
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