Not long ago, I was attempting to spread some compost under a peach tree, and I knelt on a mesquite thorn. It hurt and bled a little when I pulled it out, but I quickly went back to work. That night there was a tiny bump that looked like an insect bite. The next day it was sore to the touch and a little bit warm. The day after that, it was red and swollen.  I could barely bend my knee. I made plans to call a doctor in the morning, and yeah, I was a little scared.  But when I woke up, my knee seemed better.  Maybe the thorn worked its way out in my sleep?  I was praying.  I knew a lodged mesquite thorn could cause quite a bit of trouble.  Grateful, I moved on – but I was still scratching my head – wondering what happened.

The next week, I was trimming some blackberries and got scratched up and down my arms from thorns.  A few of them got stuck in my fingers. They swelled a little, and I poked them out with a needle like a splinter.  What was God trying to teach me? I was getting tired of thorns!

There are lots of examples of thorns in the Bible. We first hear about thorns after man sinned. Thorns seem to symbolize sorrow and hardship. The apostle Paul had a thorn in the flesh. He prayed three times for God to take it away. Rather than grant that request, God promised him the strength to live with it. You see, God had a purpose for Paul that went beyond saying yes to his prayer request. So how do I respond when my ways are not God’s ways? What do I do when God’s solution is not my solution?

  1. Identify the problem and take my thoughts captive so that I stop worrying about it and can hand it over to God. Philippians 4:6 says, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
  2. Pray to God for His solution. Jesus prayed and asked God that the cup of suffering He was facing be taken from Him. Jesus also prayed for the Father’s will to be done and not His (Luke 22:42).
  3. Embrace and repeat out loud Proverbs 16:9 which says, “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.” You see, I can plan all I want, but God always acts according to His purpose. And His ways are not always ours (Isaiah 55:8).

The Apostle Paul got an answer from God, but he didn’t get the thorn removed. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, “And He said unto me, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” Not all Paul’s prayers were answered the way he first wanted. We see that Paul accepted God’s answer, because God promised to be with him and to give Paul strength. The purpose was that God would be glorified. God makes the same promise to us.

Next time something troubles you, no matter how desperately you want to see things go according to your plan, consider the faith of Jesus and of Paul. Jesus endured the cross. Paul accepted God’s grace. And know that God is working according to good in your circumstance (Romans 8:28).

I don’t really understand why I got that thorn in my knee, and I don’t really know how it got better. But I do know that there are times when I want my solution to a problem, and I struggle to believe that God is enough. And if I go on my feelings alone, I even struggle to believe God is there.  I think that’s the truth that God was reminding me of when my knee hurt so bad.  He’s there. He’s able and He cares. He’s working towards a higher good than I can understand. That’s part of our journey – to trust God’s character and His Word, even in the times when we can’t see how things will work out. No matter what happens, whether God removes the thorn or not, His grace is always sufficient. We can count on that.

– Written by Jill

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