We all go through pain and suffering, some more than others, and when we go through it personally, it can be quite debilitating. It affects us physically; our energy, appetite, and our ability to function properly, thereby impacting our work. It affects us mentally, impairing our concentration, our moods, our behavior. It’s a challenge and a part of life. Yet, we find ways to cope with it, no matter the severity, big or small.
However, completely ignoring it is inadvisable. Even something as small as a physical thorn in the flesh, if not taken care of, can lead to more serious problems. A very simple thing to do, but one that can easily be forgotten, is prayer. God hears all prayers and especially many prayers. Our prayer requests are helpful as we all pray together as one big family, pleading to God to intervene on all our behalf, for we are all praying on behalf of the individual who is in need.
Another crucial step, which should be the first step, is asking for anointing from one of God’s ministers with the laying on of hands with oil, which symbolizes God’s Holy Spirit – the power of God. Having faith that God will intervene is absolutely necessary. And no matter the outcome, also know that it is all in God’s hands and according to His Will.
Paul is a prime example. He prayed to God three times to remove the pain he was suffering from (2 Corinthians 12:8). God did not heal him for a reason. Instead of removing his ailment, God gave Paul more overwhelming humility and love, and more compensating strength for he responded by saying: “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). Paul learned that God’s “power is made perfect in weakness” (verse 9).
What exactly his thorn in the flesh was is not specifically mentioned, yet he knew that this suffering was necessary to continue doing what God wanted him to do. Things may have been much different if he had been in perfect health. Perhaps the urgency and purpose that God desired from him would not have been fulfilled in the same way that Paul carried them out.
As the Nelson Study Bible states, “Paul believed he was suffering the afflictions God wanted him to endure. Instead of facing his difficulties with dread, Paul saw his troubles as a time of joy… because they were producing an eternal reward…”
Just as Paul, we are not perfect, but we must be growing in perfection through suffering. And just as Christ suffered, so must we. Peter also tells us in 1 Peter 4:16 that “if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.”
He further says in 1 Peter 4:1-2, “Therefore, since Christ suffered FOR US in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for HE WHO HAS SUFFERED IN THE FLESH HAS CEASED FROM SIN, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.” This is talking about US since Christ never sinned, and suffering as a Christian or follower of Christ should motivate us to stop sinning.
Christ suffered FOR US, and our suffering is also for the purpose of helping others. If one member suffers, ALL the members suffer (1 Corinthians 12:26). We suffer so that we can understand what it is like, enabling us to feel the pain of those who are suffering. When we go through suffering, God comforts us in many different ways, so that we, in turn, can comfort others in their suffering with the same comfort we ourselves received from God.
Whatever our particular “thorn in the flesh” may be, God knows all about it and will take care of us, according to His purpose, ensuring that we ultimately succeed—if we allow Him to.