How to Cope with a Thorn in the Flesh..

[Bible Speaks]

How to Cope with a 
Thorn in the Flesh....

ARE you contending with some ongoing trial? 

If so, you are not alone. In these “critical times hard to deal with,” faithful Christians are coping with bitter opposition, family problems, sickness, financial anxieties, emotional distresses, the loss of loved ones in death, and other challenges.

Some may even cry out to God, “Why are you letting this happen to me?” 
If such a negative attitude were to take root in a person’s heart, it could erode his joy and confidence.

Jehovah God fights in our behalf. He has made sure that his servants are not ignorant regarding Satan’s tactics. (2 Corinthians 2:11)

Paul, having been sorely tried, was inspired to write: “There was given me a thorn in the flesh, an angel of Satan, to keep slapping me, that I might not be overly exalted.” (2 Corinthians 12:7) 

What was this thorn in Paul’s flesh? Well, a thorn lodged deep under the skin would certainly be painful. So the metaphor suggests something that caused Paul pain—whether physical, emotional, or both. 

It may be that Paul suffered from an eye affliction or some other physical infirmity. 

Or the thorn may have involved those individuals who challenged Paul’s credentials as an apostle and called into question his preaching and teaching work. (2 Corinthians 10:10-12; 11:5, 6, 13) 

Whatever it was, that thorn remained in place and could not be removed.

Today, Satan is just as pleased when we are similarly troubled by a thorn in the flesh.

God has given us many examples inhis holy Word, the Bible, showing that his faithful servants have successfully coped with thorns in their flesh.
•Paul 
•Mephibosheth
•Nehemiah
•Rebekah
•Hannah
•King David 
•Micaiah
•Job

The preceding examples by no means represent an exhaustive list. The Bible contains many more. 

All these faithful servants had to contend with their own figurative thorns. And what a wide variety of problems they faced! 
Yet, they had something incommon. None of them gave up in their service to Jehovah. 

Read this at this link and know you are not alone with your own personal thorn in the flesh! 

Despite all their distressing tests, they overcame Satan in the strength that Jehovah provided them. 
http://m.wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2002123?q=thorns+in+the+flesh&p=par#h=29