Okay so you’re sick again, for the third time in three weeks and you can’t understand why. Especially since you never used to get sick…you could go for months and sometimes years without feeling any kind of weakness… but recently it seems you can’t help but be sick…and you think it must be God’s will… I mean you wouldn’t be sick if it wasn’t God’s will… RIGHT?
Plus, even Paul (the Bible giant) was sick and God told him that He would not take the sickness away from Paul…RIGHT?
ACTUALLY THAT’S WRONG…
Paul says: 2 Corinthians 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure THROUGH THE ABUNDANCE OF THE REVELATIONS, there was given to me a THORN IN THE FLESH, the MESSENGER OF SATAN to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure… 10Therefore I take pleasure in INFIRMITIES, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
- ABUNDANCE OF REVELATIONS: Paul wrote 2/3 of new testament… it was because of the abundance of revelations…that means you need to write at least 2/3 of the Bible before you can use Paul as an excuse.
- THORN IN YOUR SIDES/EYES : The persecution of godly people by ungodly people… Numbers 33:55; Joshua 23:13; Judges 2:3 — if I say I was bothered today by a few pain-in-the-butts you would probably know I’m referring to some pain-in-the-butt people… thorn in the flesh is also one of those lingos
- MESSENGER OF SATAN: not from God (and don’t give me that crap that oh well God allowed it…God either wills it or he doesn’t…but not everything that happens is His will)
- INFIRMITIES: perils of waters/robbers/countrymen/heathen/false brethren…”If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern my INFIRMITIES.” 2 Corinthians 11:23-31 (just a few verses before 2 Corinthians 12:7) — infirmities is anything that causes problems…although it can refer to diseases, in this situation it did not, especially since he had already defined what kind of infirmities he was referring to in a few verses before he used it again.
CONCLUSION:
There’s no excuse for sickness…Paul’s thorn was not sickness or poverty, the only thing he was not redeemed from was persecution for his faith, and neither are we redeemed from persecution for our faith… 2 Timothy 3:12
maybe next time we’ll talk about Paul’s “alleged ancient eye disease”…could it be apollo (conjunctivitis)? ha!
Would you like some help with loneliness and depression? Click here