The Gift of Pain

Paul had a unique experience. He was taken up to the third heaven, where he heard things he was not permitted to speak about. God then gave him a "second blessing" -- a thorn in the flesh -- to keep him from exalting himself. This is amazing. Paul is an apostle. He is a mature Chrisitan, not a babe. He is a humble man. Yet, even Paul would have exalted himself after this extraordinary revelation if God had not given him a thorn to weaken him and create in him a sense of strong dependency on the Lord. Many theories abound concerning the thorn in the flesh. The simple facts are that it was IN the flesh (in his physical body), and it was a messenger (angel) of Satan. So, God gave him the thorn and Satan sent the thorn. Satan meant it for evil in Paul's life, but God meant it for good. This messenger, which was a demon, was sent to torment or buffet Paul. The Greek word means to rap with the fist. I'm sure that didn't feel good. Paul begged to have it removed. But the answer was no. God's grace was sufficient for Paul, and Paul needed the thorn, to keep him from self-exaltation. This text is loaded with instruction. We'll consider the enormous problem we have with pride -- even mature believers. We'll consider how God makes war with our pride and will not suffer it. We'll consider how demons are used by God to afflict people, even believers in their flesh and for their good. When you study demon activity in the Bible, a picture quickly emerges: when demons afflict, there is always a health problem, a deformity, a handicap, or a mental problem, or a combination. Paul's thorn was a demon and his flesh was painfully smarting. Yet, this was a gift of God. Pain is a gift.