The Thorn In Your FleshSýnishorn

Why was Paul given this “thorn in the flesh”? 

In the preceding verses, Paul described an experience where he had been, as the Bible says, 

“Caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak.” 

Because of the surpassing greatness of these revelations, Paul noted that his thorn was given to him to keep him from exalting himself (2 Corinthians 12:4-7).

In other words, Paul was tempted to be prideful and to engage in boasting because of these revelations. The thorn was in place to inhibit this desire. 

In fact, Paul was already engaged in a pitched battle against false teachers who were boasting that their own accomplishments and visions made them greater than Paul and thus worthy of a hearing among his Corinthian congregation (2 Corinthians 11:1-15). 

It is no wonder then that he identified this group (and his own temptation to join in their boasting) as a “messenger of Satan”—the angelic being who fell from heaven because of his boastful desire to ascend above the heights of the clouds and make himself like the Most High (Isaiah 14:14). 

Affliction, whether physical or interpersonal, can unveil what lies at the core of our fallen hearts, and this particular “thorn in the flesh” became a tool in the hand of God to unveil and address these darker motives in Paul. 

What is God teaching you about yourself in the midst of your afflictions ?