My thorn in the flesh causes me pain. It’s always there and I’m always aware of it. It hurts worse when pressed on by life. But it keeps me humble, allows me to have empathy for others who suffer, and it’s because of it that I am able to dive much deeper emotionally than I would be able to without it and that allows me to have capacity for compassion.
Our thorns are left there for a reason. God is not being merciless in not taking them away. He wants us to work hard and learn to understand why they are allowed to be there. He lets the thorns change our awareness of ourselves and those around us, so that we can see more clearly our need for God and through that, be able to see more clearly someone else’s need for His love.
Don’t allow your thorn to take over and cripple you, but just as importantly, don’t ignore it. Our thorns have purpose in our lives. They are not meant to bring us down, but to help us learn how to allow God to build wisdom, compassion and understanding in our lives. ~Christy Brown
Thanks for building up the body of Christ!