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THE POWER OF A THORN

by willetta pilcher  
1/28/2009 / Christian Living

Several years ago my husband and I were working as volunteers at an Indian Mission School in Arizona. One afternoon I sat down on a large log buried in the ground as a low post. I do not know what made me fall off the log. Seemingly I momentarily lost consciousness. At any rate, I fell into a cactus bed, an experience I will never forget! [My husband and the nurse spent nearly two hours pulling thorns out of my body but thanks to the many prayers that went up for me, there were no ill effects from the experience except a big reminder never to get too close to a cactus again!]

The first time "thorns" are introduced in scripture is in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve had sinned and God came on the scene. God's pronouncement to Adam was this... "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field." (Genesis 3:17-18)

Thorns became, not only the symbol of pain, but also a very present reminder of sin's penalty. Farmers and grounds keepers hate thorns! They are difficult to remove and almost impossible to eradicate. Thorns appear on certain trees, bushes, and low growing plants. Some of the bushes contain eatable fruit (blackberries) and nearly everyone has seen a beautiful rose, but even in its beauty, the rosebush has thorns.

Israel was warned in Numbers 33:55 that if they did not drive out the inhabitants of the land ... they would become 'thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.'

It is said of Gideon in Judges 8:16 that "...he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth." One can only imagine what a lesson that must have been!

It is interesting to me, how many men God has given a 'thorn' in order to make them into vessels of use. It is not a popular concept in this day of comfort and ease but it is never the less a reality that we must not overlook. Most of these men had unusual confrontations with God or they were groomed in difficult ways to be mighty spokesmen for God.

Abraham was asked to leave his homeland and his kinfolk and travel to an undesignated place. Gen 12:1-3 "Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."

The promise was amazing but no one can doubt that it took a great deal of faith for Abram to respond to God's call. God recognized that and Paul tells us it was 'accounted as righteousness' (Galatians 3:6). The problem was, Abram had no children. It would be twenty-five years before Abraham received the fulfillment of this promise in a son, Isaac. Much turmoil and several mistakes were made as God formed and shaped a man capable of fulfilling the assigned task.

This assignment to become the father of many nations was as it were a 'thorn' as Abraham struggled to obey God completely. The biggest test or 'thorn' came when Isaac was a young lad and God ask Abraham to take his son and sacrifice him to Himself. It is difficult enough to 'give' one's child in complete surrender unto God but to be asked to kill your son and offer him as a burnt offering is beyond comprehension. Abraham passed the test with flying colors knowing 'that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead' Hebrews 11:17-19.

The emotional, mental and spiritual strain this assignment caused in Abraham was indeed a constant reminder (thorn) of God's working in his life.

Jacob received a thorn in a different manner. He wrestled with the angel of the Lord, asking for a blessing. In the process, "...he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint..." Genesis 32:25. At this point, God changed Jacob's name to Israel. From Israel would come the twelve tribes that formed the great nation that is still in existence to this day. Jacob's limp became the thorn that would remind him daily of God's promise.

Moses, a man mightily used of God also had his 'thorns' to bear. The Pharaoh appointed all baby boys to be killed but Moses' mother saw him as a special child and hid him in a basket among the bulrushes. There Pharaoh's daughter found him and rescued his life. After he was weaned he was taken into Pharaoh's court, away from his family, and trained there.

Moses had a speech impediment (Exodus 4:10) that caused him to resists God's call upon his life. However he obeyed the call and became the mighty leader of the children of Israel. His speech impediment was, no doubt, a constant reminder of his need to depend on God. The assignment was a difficult one and the people were often troublesome and rebellious but Moses prevailed.

Daniel also had his share of thorns. Taken from his homeland, at an early age, he was taken to Babylon and there trained for a political assignment. "Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat nor with the wine which he drank..." Daniel 1:8. It was a decision that brought him favor with the prince of eunuchs. Although he found himself raised into a high political position, he was thrown into a den of lions as a punishment for praying but God spared his life (Daniel 6). The happenings in his life were certainly thorns but they served to keep Daniel's focus on God. His friends endured the experience of the fiery furnace ) Daniel 3). I dare say, they never forgot their experience!

Jesus bore a "crown of thorns"on the day of his crucifixion. The crown was thrust upon his head representing the agonizing mental torture that one goes through during difficult situations. Great men of God have always, even unto this day, borne the anguish of agonizing decisions: Decisions that are life changing and often thought to be impossible. But God knows how to make a man of worth for the kingdom and physical limitations never get in his way.

Everyone knows about Paul's thorn in the flesh. 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."

Many volumes have been written speculating about what that thorn was. Can we not just take it at face value? It was a messenger of Satan sent by God, to buffet Paul. It was a 'thorn' to constantly remind Paul to stay humble. Pride would have destroyed Paul and his ministry to the body of Christ! There is no greater danger that presents itself to believers. God knows what his chosen vessels need to keep them humble and useful.

In our present day, Joni Earickson Tada bears the thorn of a wheelchair. David Ring has cerebral palsy and a difficult speech impediment. Both have wonderful ministries but they have faced nearly insurmountable difficulties to be used of God. Dare we say that these limitations are not thorns?

Thorns produce suffering and the suffering comes in many various packages but they produce revelations and skills that would never come about if it were not for the need to be totally and completely dependent on God.

Thorns, when burned in the natural, make a rapid, intense fire. Thorns in the spiritual 'burn' the dross from men and women, making them into vessels of honor, fit for the master's use. (2 Timothy 2:20-21) I have never known a successful man or woman of God that has not suffered the fire.

John the Baptist, said of Jesus, (Matthew 3:11-12) "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

If we listen to many today we get the idea that 'if'we just believe and/or give God will bless us with whatever we desire. I want to remind us all that believing has a price tag as does blessing. God is not about blessing and rewarding fleshly attempts at manipulation.
God desires character, faithfulness and purity of heart, all of which are forged in the fiery furnace of His love.

1 Peter 1:3-9 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

"Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls."

Willetta has spent most of her life ministering to people. In her late seventies, and a wheelchair now her mode of travel, she now ministers to people through the internet. Her webs are...
www.teachmethyways.org
www.successwithkids.org
www.theseedsower.org

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