“… but to keep me from getting puffed up, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from getting proud. (Corinthians 12:7 NLT)
Yesterday we saw that the Lord tells Ananias in Acts 9:15 that Saul would suffer greatly in his service. In 2 Corinthians 12:7, we read of Paul’s suffering with a thorn of the flesh. He states that the thorn was given to him to keep him from getting proud.
Like Paul, we as believers can expect challenges and difficulty in serving God faithfully. The road will include bumps, but as we strive to serve, the Holy Spirit will help to us to do what we alone cannot do. Listen to the Holy Spirit and move, step by step, in serving in accordance with His instructions.
“The best we can hope for in this life is a knothole peek at the shining realities ahead. Yet a glimpse is enough. It's enough to convince our hearts that whatever sufferings and sorrows currently assail us aren't worthy of comparison to that which waits over the horizon.”
- Joni Eareckson Tada