by Doy Moyer<\/p>\n
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness<\/em>” (II Corinthians 12:9).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Paul had a weakness, a “thorn in the flesh” that he thought was keeping him from being as productive as he could have been without it. He prayed to the Lord three times to have it removed, but the Lord would let it remain, telling Paul that His grace was sufficient. Paul concludes, “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<\/em>” (II Corinthians 12:9-10).<\/p>\n
This is difficult. We feel hampered by various walls that appear in life, from personal physical and emotional health to barriers erected by others. We want the freedom to act without barriers and think that is what will benefit the kingdom the most. It makes sense to pray that these be removed from our lives so we can do our best in serving the Lord.<\/p>\n
But what if these thorns are actually what put us in a position to have a greater effect for God’s kingdom? What if the way we handle our thorns serves to help others more, spread the gospel more, and glorify God more? Are we willing to endure the thorns for the sake of more glory to God?<\/p>\n
Perhaps we think, “I want to glorify God, but can it be without these thorns?” Isn’t that for God to determine? To one, He may grant a life without severe difficulties; to another, He may ask to endure great hardships. Instead of asking what we think is fair, let us ask what will work to the benefit of the kingdom and the glory of God. If we must endure some difficulties so that the work of God is magnified, then let our response be like Paul’s: “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.”<\/p>\n
The question is, will people see Christ in you when your life is met with trials, hardships, and calamities? Whether big or little matters, if our lives are not pointing to the Lord then where are our hearts and where is our treasure?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Doy Moyer “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (II Corinthians 12:9). Paul had a weakness, a “thorn in the flesh” that he thought was keeping him from being as productive as he could have been without it. He prayed to the Lord three times to have…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[574,188],"class_list":["post-62959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-service","tag-trials"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":62066,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/grace-is-sufficient\/","url_meta":{"origin":62959,"position":0},"title":"Grace Is Sufficient","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 29, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Paul describes certain visions and revelations that were beyond his understanding (II Corinthians 12). He then spoke of what he calls a \"thorn in the flesh,\" given to him to keep him from becoming conceited. He implored the Lord three times that this thorn would be removed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":83738,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-pauls-thorn-in-the-flesh-his-bad-eyesight\/","url_meta":{"origin":62959,"position":1},"title":"Was Paul’s thorn in the flesh his bad eyesight?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In II Corinthians 12:1-10, Paul talks about his \"thorn in the flesh,\" which kept him from exalting himself, especially after entering paradise.\u00a0 Does Galatians 4:15 show his thorn in the flesh was his eyes? Also, did he see Paradise or just hear words he couldn't repeat? Answer: \"Boasting is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34398,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-you-keep-your-weaknesses-from-distracting-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":62959,"position":2},"title":"How do you keep your weaknesses from distracting you?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 13, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Maybe not as much now but I am sure when growing up as a Christian: How did you deal with your weaknesses distracting you? I have just really realized that my weaknesses have really been exploited to distract me from what I actually want to do and should do.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61525,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/burdens\/","url_meta":{"origin":62959,"position":3},"title":"Burdens","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Johnathan Perz Struggles, infirmities, and adversities are a part of life. We all face them. Paul describes a struggle he brought before God on three occasions, seeking that God remove it from him. Instead of removing the burden, God let Paul bear it, admonishing him with the words, \"My\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55600,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/comfort-for-the-depressed\/","url_meta":{"origin":62959,"position":4},"title":"Comfort for the Depressed","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 7, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Johnny Felker In II Corinthians 1, Paul discusses what must have been one of the lowest points in his life, a time filled with deep feelings of anxiety and despair. He reports that in Asia he was \"burdened excessively, beyond... strength\" so that he \"despaired even of life\", having\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/11\/depressed.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":89106,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/lifes-challenges\/","url_meta":{"origin":62959,"position":5},"title":"Life’s Challenges","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores Paul's honesty in his telling of the \"thorn in the flesh\" that caused him such distress is relatable (II Corinthians 12:7-10). Whatever it was that caused Paul such pain, we've all been there. After all, who hasn't struggled with some circumstance, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual, that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62959\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}