Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.
When we encounter troubles and trials, it is too easy to expend all of our efforts to get out from under the pressure instead of asking God to use our situation to bring about His purposes. This is also true when we see or family and friends going through adversity. We should always spend time in prayer to discern if the Lord is using the thorns of life to bring about His divine will.
In our Scripture for today, Paul shares that he was given a thorn in the flesh. By his not naming the thorn, we are better able to relate to the thorn that we may have in our own life. I guess you might say: The type of thorn does not matter—any old thorn will do!
It is essential that we spend much time in prayer asking God how we should pray. We must not be guilty of telling God what to do. We need to listen for His voice. Once Paul learned the secret of the thorn’s purpose, he could see that the Lord’s strength and power was made perfect in his weakness.