Paul faced a lot of pressure in his ministry. There were many who insisted that he didn’t really measure up as an apostle (II Corinthians 10:2, 11:5, 11:12-15). He experienced numerous sufferings and persecutions (11:23-27). And he also suffered from some kind of personal affliction, “a thorn in the flesh” (12:7).

We have no real information as to the nature of this affliction. There is the suggestion that it may have had something to do with his eyes; he had been blinded for a time before Ananias came to pray over him (Acts 9:8-18), and the Galatians would have given their eyes to Paul (Galatians 4:15) – is that just a metaphor, or does it point to a specific malady? In contrast, in today’s passage we find a suggestion that it may have been an overall frailty: “his bodily presence is weak” (II Corinthians 10:10). And indeed, we do not know whether it was a physical ailment at all: it could have been a spiritual distress of having so many people maligning his ministry all the time.

It is very interesting how Paul prayed about this situation. “Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me” (12:8). He sensed the Lord’s response: “My grace is sufficient for you: for power is made perfect in weakness” (12:9). Having prayed for relief three times, and having heard God say No, that resolved the problem as far as Paul was concerned: no need for any further prayer about this. He would boast in his weaknesses, so that the power of Christ might dwell within him (12:9); he would go on accepting “weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong” (12:10).

We should recall that this is the same message that we looked at two days ago, earlier in II Corinthians. There Paul expressed the idea with this metaphor: “We have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us” (4:7). And so here at the end: his thorn in the flesh – which is also a metaphor, whether it referred to physical or spiritual affliction – along with various other weaknesses and persecutions: all of this was simply an opportunity for both Paul’s friends and enemies – and for the world at large – to see the power of God coming to fulfillment in the midst of Paul’s human frailty.

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Ah, Lord Jesus: our most common prayer is to ask you to heal all the sick, and nearly as often we ask you to protect us from difficulties, accidents, and disease. We just don’t like weakness or illness, hardship or calamity: yet you allow them to come our way, Jesus, with distressing regularity. Give us the courage to pray for healing: but even more, give us the courage to be glad of our weaknesses, so that your power may dwell in us.