Perhaps it would be helpful to look at what a thorn in the flesh is not, before we look at what a thorn in the flesh is.

A thorn in the flesh is not something we are born with. It is not a handicap that we may bring with us into the world at our birth. That certainly is a problem but Biblically speaking it is not a thorn. A thorn is not necessary a disability or an illness.

Neither is it something we are born into – such as an unfortunate family background with a drunken father and a mother on drugs. A thorn is not necessary anything to do with our environment or circumstances. It is sad indeed that some children come into the world in such situations but that is not a thorn.

A thorn is not something that comes on us through no fault of our own. Many people have been unfortunate in happening to be in the wrong place at the wrong time – that is not having a thorn.

Finally, a thorn is not a sin that we cannot stop, such as some addiction. Some people feel that their addiction to drink or cigarettes is a thorn but they are wrong. What then is a thorn – what does the Bible teach us about a thorn in the flesh?

A thorn in the flesh is “something God sends to one of His children to make them humble”. It is something that deliberately sends them to keep them low. They are getting proud and God hates pride. Paul tells us plainly “a thorn in the flesh was given to me … lest I should be exalted above measure” (2 Cor 12:7).

Paul was tempted to boast. He had wonderful experiences – visions of the highest order. To make them public would have silenced his critics and confirmed his apostolic calling. He was tempted to publish these visions. He resisted. “For although I might desire to boast … I refrain” (2 Cor 12:6). He knew that if he gave in to his feelings of pride, God might do something that would make him humble. So Paul reminds himself that he was given a thorn to keep him quiet.

A thorn is something we don’t like – something that is probably an embarrassment to us, something we are ashamed of. It is something that keeps us from being ‘big on it’. Something that takes us down from our ‘high horse’.

A thorn could be anything at all. It could be a sore back coming at awkward times preventing us from doing something we wanted to do but which would only make us proud. So God stopped us. It could be an unexpected failure in an exam which we boasted was easy.

A thorn is the only thing that sorts us out. Nothing else works. Friend, relatives, husband, wife, could not tell us because we were too proud to take their advice. Like Joseph and his dreams – his father and brothers counsel only made him worse. He needed to learn a lesson. So God said ‘There’s only one thing for it Joseph, I have to send you to Egypt’.

The wonderful thing about being ‘sent to Egypt’ is that if we repent, if we humble ourselves, we will still be blessed. We can make up the lost ground. God is the chief forgiver. He loves forgiving those who repent. He loves blessing His people – even after they fall.

Another example is Hezekiah. He took ill, but his life was spared for another 15 years. He really prayed hard about that. But he got proud during these extra years. When the delegation of Babylonian ambassadors came to look at his kingdom, “his heart was lifted up” because “God had given him very much property” and “very great riches” and he started showing off the beauties of the temple (2 Chron 32:24-31). God set him aside for a while.

Pride is perhaps the sin that God hates most among His creatures. “The Lord God has sworn by Himself, the Lord God of hosts says ‘I abhor the pride of Jacob’” (Amos 6:8). “Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord” (Pro 16:5).

It is possible to have a thorn and not know it. It is possible to be blind to God’s voice in a thorn. Jesus again and again rebuked the Pharisees but they never learned the lesson although they were humiliated.

We need to remember that if we do have a thorn, it is because God loves us. He is not trying to make a fool of us by giving us a thorn. He is trying to put us in the best place. If we fight against a thorn we will make matters worse, not better. We must not cover up or pretend when God is putting us in our place. To try and vindicate ourselves can be very counterproductive. Let us remember “The Lord lifts up the humble” and He “does not forget the cry of the humble” (Ps 147:6 and 9:12).