THORNS

Today's Reading: 2 Corinthians 12-13

Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 12:9

And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."

The smaller we are in our own eyes, the bigger we see Christ to be. There's more room for Jesus who lives in the believer when the believer does not have a large opinion of himself. We start next week in 1st Samuel where we will find King Saul. Samuel said of him, "When you were little in your eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel?" (1 Samuel 15:17). Saul became so big that he thought he no longer had to obey God. This resulted in his loss of the throne.

The Apostle Paul's name, before his conversion, was also Saul. In his mind, he was "Mr. Big." He went directly to the High Priest and received the authority to persecute the Christians. But God got a hold of his heart. We don't know what the "thorn in the flesh" was, referred to in this passage, but we do know God gave it to him to keep him from becoming "Mr. Big" again. When Paul was "Mr. Small," God could be "Big" in his life and ministry. For God to be strong in Paul, he had to become weak in himself, not depending on his own abilities, but in the strength of Christ, Himself.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord Jesus, Your servant Paul prayed three times for deliverance from his "thorn." Each time You answered, "No." Please help us to learn this difficult lesson. You said that "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Matthew 23:12). We bow at Your feet, and we exalt You above all in praise and worship. Use us, O Lord, in any way You desire. In Your exalted Name we pray, Amen!

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