Paul
the apostle told the church members, “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”,
and in chapter
twelve and verse eight of Second Corinthians, Paul wrote, “for
this thing I begged the Lord three times”
where we read:
For
this thing I begged the Lord three times, that it might depart from
me.
The
verse begins, “For
this thing I begged the Lord three times, ...” Paul
began with the words, “for
this thing”
which means “in behalf of and for the sake of this one” “I
begged”
or “Paul called to his side, summoned, addresses, entreated and
beseeched” “the
Lord”
which refers to “he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which
he has power of deciding; master and the title given to God the
Messiah” “three
times”
or “on three occasions”. Paul “implored” God “on three
different occasions” to for his “thorn
in the flesh”.
The
verse goes on to say, “...
that it might depart from me.”.
Paul
began with the words, “that
it might depart”
which means “that the thorn may stand off, be caused to withdraw
and remove” “from
me”
which means “away from Paul”. Paul desired for his “thorn in
the flesh” to be removed.
When
we meditate upon these
words of Paul, we see how this “thorn” which Paul endured was not
desired by him at all. He pled with God to “remove” it on “three”
different occasions. Paul suffered from this physical malady even
though he was responsible to share the “gospel of Jesus Christ”
with everyone he encountered. Those who receive abundant “visions
and revelations” may also encounter a “thorn”, and when they
do, they shall desire that it be withdrawn.
Next
time Paul
tells the church members, “my
grace is sufficient for you”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then,
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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