The Monday Rewind: Do you need a thorn?

2 Cor 12:7  And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.


Can you relate to Paul's statement here?  Is there a messenger from satan in your life that continues to buffet you?  Think carefully because I am not speaking of a specific person. (I know you went there!) I'm talking about the spirit of the enemy that you must consistently contend or battle against.  If you look carefully at Paul's statement, he purposely wraps his thorn with this Godly perspective:

"lest I should be exalted above measure."

This perspective helps to take the focus off of the messenger and place it solely on himself, thereby enabling him to truly give God the glory in his process.  He understood that the situation (or messenger) was solely for the purpose of preventing him from becoming exalted or prideful, either of which could have seriously interuppted his walk with God. 


Do you know the REAL reason behind your thorny situations? Or have you allowed yourself to push the blame for your situations onto someone or something else?


Yesterday, Pastor spoke powerfully about our need to understand the purpose of thorns in our lives.  Interestingly enough, we have also spent a great deal of time over the past few weeks discussing the purpose of thorns in our Morning Glory session.  (psst, I think God is trying to tell us something!)  What Pastor taught us was that God allows thorns in our lives for two purposes:

humility & ELEVATION

God is never interested in hurting or punishing us. He is only interested in growing us, bringing us closer to Him, and elevating us into our next level.  However, without humility, we are unable to even recognize our need to change and grow; so many times, especially in situations where we are unable to humble ourselves, God must provoke our humility and growth using situations (thorns).  But without the proper perspective, we can miss God altogether because we become so focused on the pain of the thorn rather than the purpose.


So, Pastor gave us some very helpful and practical tips for keeping the proper perspective and navigating the process of our thorns so that we never miss God:

1.   Pray & Get the Word - Prayer allows you to cast your cares on Him, and it allows Him to speak to you and give you direction.  Getting the Word often in church & your own personal devotion enables the Holy Spirit to bring the Word to your remembrance at the right moment you need it

2.   Choose to make the pain secondary - don't get so caught up in the pain of the situation that you miss God. God knows it hurts! It's designed to hurt so that you will be humbled enough to seek Him. Don't focus on the pain and miss the purpose. Otherwise, you will repeat the process. 

3.   Exercise self-control - whenever you encounter thorny situations, use the Word to calm yourself so that you do not react & respond in your emotions. Emotional reactions are costly!

4.   Get the revelation - EVERY situation has purpose.  You must purposely seek to understand exactly what God is saying to you in your situation!  He is speaking!! Are you listening?

If you're dealing with a thorn today, I hope you will take the time to seek God for the purpose and not just relief from the pain.  He does have a purpose for the process! Understanding the purpose will help to shape your perspective, and having the proper perspective will ensure that you get all that God wants you to have. 


Have a blessed week!