Resitting the test

Hi how are you all today? My town is enduring an extreme heat wave and it has been so hot. For those enduring snow this might sound great, but trust me, it’s not. It is hard to sleep as it is hot. Hopefully either rain and storms forecast this week will cut the humidity down which will be great.

Sometimes when we start to dream again, the enemy throws obstacles in our path. This could be something new but often it is what we struggle with – our thorn in the flesh that we wish God would just take away. But He doesn’t?

Mine is insecurity and just when I think I have relationships with others in a good place, insecurity rears its ugly head and I feel like I am resitting the test once again.

So how do we navigate our way through these thorns in the flesh that keep annoying us? The first thing to do is to realise they aren’t going to miraculously disappear – we have to conquer them. Let’s have a look at the verse in 2 Corinthians 12: 7 to 9a:

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 ^[a]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.”

Our thorn in the flesh serves two purposes. They are:

1. The first is to keep us submitted to God lest we think we are too good. Sometimes if all is going well in our lives, we get complacent with the things of God. We don’t pay attention to those things that are needful in our lives like praying and reading the Bible. The thorn keeps us humble and on the right track with God.

2. The second is to keep us empowered by God. Grace is Gods empowerment within us to give us the ability to do things He needs us to do. If we are going along smoothly in our life and everything we do is easy then we will start to rely on our own ability and not Gods. It is grace that enables us to do those things God has called us to do.

I have noticed that my own natural abilities in an area are so different from my calling in God. Why? Because our calling needs to be something we know only God can do in us. Organising and being analytical is my natural gifts but writing is my calling. How do I know this? Because it is only Gods ability in me that enables me to write.

So this means my thorn is directly related to my calling. If I don’t submit to the calling, the thorn is an indication that I need to get back on track. If I am struggling in this area, I am not doing what God has called me to do.

Let’s look at a quick example. King David was a mighty warrior but what happened when he decided that one spring he wouldn’t fulfil his calling and go to war. The thorn in the flesh reared its ugly head. That thorn for David was women and in particular beautiful women.

He committed adultery with Bathsheba. David paid a high price for choosing the thorn over his calling. His family became dysfunctional, his son died and he had to leave town because of another son.

It is time for us to stop resitting the thorn test and to start seeking, remembering and operating in our calling. If we concentrate on that and draw our strength from God, thorns and tests will have no place in our lives.

Pray and seek God this week over this area if you are struggling. Gods grace will empower you to defeat this thing once and for all.

Bless you and keep living the life God intended for you.

Karen