Where is the Thorn Found?

Where is the thorn found except next to something absolutely breath-taking. There is beauty that accompanies a thorn. A thorn is upstaged by the petals of a majestic rose (I recognize there are other places in the plant world where thorns are found - for now I am merely singling out a rose's thorn). I wonder if God thought about the parallels that thorns would have when it came to our lives. Did He think of the thorn and then think of pain? Or did He think of the thorn as beautiful?

A beautiful thorn...is it possible? Is it possible for something that causes pain to be beautiful? Is it possible to handle a thorn without being hurt? Yes, I think that once one learns what a thorn is and how to recognize what it will do, that then it is possible to not be hurt by them.

I think of a professional gardener - someone who is constantly around plants and flowers and bushes...I am picturing hands with callouses and scares and dirt under the nails. Though, after a while, I am sure gloves are used on those professional hands. At first, was there such eagerness and pride to think that those gloves were not needed?

I think of myself...How eager I have been in life, at times...My pride has often come before a fall.

Hallelujah that God has been there every time to pick me up and show me the way through. He has shown me how to move on - one moment at a time, sometimes.

Recently, I was reminded of the words of Paul, the apostle: "Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." (2 Corinthians 12:7-9)

I have something/someone in my life right now that is my thorn, and the LORD was exhorting me to embrace this time as refinement needed to my flesh. There are days coming when it will be even more intense, and I need the equipping to be prepared. My flesh is weak and in need of this "thorn" to pierce it. To me the "thorn" is piercing the parts of me that want to be accepted and liked - the approval of man is strong in me. Christ was never about the approval of man; He was all about His Father's opinion - His and His alone: "Your approval means nothing to me, because I know you don’t have God’s love within you. For I have come to you in my Father’s name, and you have rejected me. Yet if others come in their own name, you gladly welcome them. No wonder you can’t believe! For you gladly honor each other, but you don’t care about the honor that comes from the one who alone is God." (John 5:41-44)

To be rejected by someone you see everyday hurts. To be cursed at and thought of with evil intent is rough. There is no part of enduring through hardship that I enjoy. Hallelujah that God is giving me eyes to see eternally.

Hallelujah for a thorn that is causing my selfishness - my flesh - to bow its knee to the LORD.