Thorns come in all shapes and sizes. While Paul’s thorn is among the most famous afflictions in history, we don’t actually know what it was. Scholars have debated for years. Even though we’ll never know exactly what Paul’s thorn was, we know it was a “weakness” (v. 9), it was “tormenting” (v. 7), and the enemy used it against him (v.7). But Paul learned to accept his weaknesses and to live with them, and even take pleasure in them. Why? Because these very weaknesses afford the opportunity for the grace of God and power of Christ to rest on him (v. 9).
What if we allowed the thorns of life to teach us to trust in the presence of God in a way that we never could have otherwise?