And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.  (8) Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.  (9) And he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”  Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmaries, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  (10) Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The second letter to the Corinthians was written by the apostle Paul. In our verses Sunday, Paul is writing to defend his apostolic claims – that he was an apostle according to the will of God.  He had been much maligned in Corinth by the false teachers who followed him everywhere and his authority had been challenged which meant the gospel he preached was also in danger of being corrupted.  Paul shares in chapters 11 and 12 tremendous amounts of biographical information for his apostolic credibility.

Paul writes that he has experienced divine visions and revelations – and lest the superiority of these revelations tempt him to pride, he has been given “ a thorn in the flesh”.  We don’t know what this painful chronic infirmity was but it was distressing enough for Paul to ask God three times for relief. This “messenger of Satan” (the thorn) was sent by God as a warning that Satan is always at hand

There is no doubt that Paul was heard by God – our prayers are always answered – and this highly favored man of God was told essentially that man’s weaknesses may seem to be obstacles but in our weakness we learn to depend on God – we turn from deceptive self reliance and empty, false pride. Paul would not let anything keep him from the love and power of Christ Jesus and clearly he felt that his thorn in the flesh was an excellence from God.  There are things that come to us because of sin and those things that come to us to keep us from sinning.