II Corinthians 12:8 NKJV

Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.

II Corinthians 12:8 NKJV

Paul is talking about the THORN in the flesh and how he prayed three times for it to go away. Paul was not talking about sickness as the word infirmities in this context speaks of lack or inadequacy.

The messenger of satan is not sent by God but by satan. Therefore all that Paul was going through and have gone through were the hindrances that came his way.

Paul had to go through hindrances that came in the form of persecutions, shipwrecks, imprisonments, stripes and stonings.

Jesus said His grace is sufficient for Paul. God turned everything that came against Paul to Paul's benefit, gaining wisdom and knowledge in the kingdom of God.

We cannot have a mentor who has not been through hardship and tells us to go through it. Everything we go through today is for tomorrow's generation.

Every THORN we face today and every persecution we go through will give us the opportunity to experience God's grace.

This is so that we will not preach religion but the true relationship that we have with our loving Father.

Paul says that this keeps him humble because he can see and experience God's grace when things did not happen according to his plan.

We have to remember that HIS GRACE is sufficient for us today and forever. We need to know and believe that in every darkest hour of our lives, God's grace will shine the brightest.

It is God's desire to crown us with wisdom, knowledge and God's encounter so that the next generation will not just hear a message but hear the word that was made flesh and dwelt in us.

Blessings

AmbroseFrancis