I’ve pruned enough roses to know that when a thorn pierces your arm through your shirt, you shouldn’t yank your arm away. The more you struggle the more damage the thorn can do to your clothes. Gentle motions can often release the thorn without damage to your rose bush, shirt or skin. Paul talked about a thorn in his flesh allowed by God to keep him from being proud (2 Corinthians 12). When he asked God to take it away, the Lord’s response was, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” When our thorn remains, we might want to pull away, but then we may miss His grace in that situation.
Ultimately, most of us struggle with thorns. Some are God ordained to teach us something. We need God’s help to learn to deal gently with thorns, whatever the cause. We can try pivoting slowly in different directions to see how best to proceed with minimal damage, while praying for His direction. We can wait for healing. Sometimes we must accept a thorn and figure out how best to live with it. Always determined to give God glory, Paul decided to take pleasure in the thorny troubles he suffered for Christ. Then God’s grace and power could expand. If God’s power could work through Paul’s weakness, Paul was all in. “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” May we be able to say the same in our weakness. With His grace and strength, Tracy