August 9, 2016: Day 72 – II Corinthians 12

In these verses we find the proverbial “thorn in the side” Scripture.  If you look at vs.7 you will find Paul’s words that speak to a weakness that the Lord has given him which he has to face his entire life in order to overcome.  The reason why God has given him this thorn, according to Paul’s self-analysis, is so that Paul would not be able to be too elated about his status in life.  That is, God has gifted Paul powerfully, but there is always the temptation to think that our gifts come from us, and not from our creator.  Paul’s weakness is brought about  as a gift from God to remind Paul who is his creator.  What is this thorn?  There are so many different theories, but I believe it is that Paul has poor eyesight.  

You can find Paul’s reference to his eyesight in Romans 16:22 where he states that he wrote down the greeting in his own hand.  The assumption is that someone else wrote the letter which he dictated.  He says the same in II Thessalonians and I Corinthians.  In Galatians 6:11 he states that he wrote a greeting in his own hand in very large letters.  All of these references lead me to believe that he had trouble with his eyesight, but again, he doesn’t say directly.

But what he does say is that even with his present weakness, he fully realizes that God’s grace is sufficient for him.  He doesn’t need anything about himself to be perfect, because God can make all things perfect, and surely at least sufficient.  This is a great memory verse: My grace is sufficient for you.  That could even be a mantra should we ever find ourselves in times when we just need to be reminded of God’s providence.  My grace is sufficient for you.  That’s a good place to end.