Blisters as Blessings
II Corinthians 12:7-10

A Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick

They say that when a mail-man goes on vacation, the last thing he wants to do is take a walk, and a cross-country truck driver would be reluctant to take 1,000 mile road trip with his family. So, what about pastors who are on vacation? Do they stop being good? One member recently sent this quip, "Pastors get paid for being good, the rest of us are good for nothing." Actually, many days in a Pastor's life are spent sitting at a desk, sitting in the counseling room or sitting at the board table. At best, any work related exercise only happens when he is pacing in prayer, or walking around the pulpit to keep congregants' interest in the sermon. As for this Pastor, the vacation week was spent with shovel in hand, moving sand, pulling wheel-barrow handles, raking pine needles off cabin roofs, swinging an axe and splitting maul, pushing and pulling on a bow saw, dragging logs through the thick woods, hammering nails into replacement boards on the porch, and occasionally pulling on the oars of a boat. What was the result of this kind of activity? Blisters, and lots of them. The question that comes in the midst of this is, "Are blisters good or bad?" Well, they may be called bad because of the pain, and even possible infection, but on the other hand, there are also some benefits. Blisters signify hard work is going on, work which at least brings about some visual satisfaction - more sand on the beach, wood pile restocked, clean roofs less likely to grow moss and mold. Blisters also serve as reminders that one should not overdo it, the pain sends the message that it's time to take a break. They also provide some hope that muscles are being strengthened, and hands are getting hardened. In a way, blisters may be likened to the pains of conscience which tell us we need to stop doing what we are doing. Unfortunately, like blisters, the conscience may also become hardened like calluses, and we go on in our sin, no longer feeling the pain. The Apostle Paul seemed to understand the blessings of blisters, as indicated in the oft discussed passage in II Corinthians 12:7-10: "To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me 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. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." We'll take notice of a few key ideas related to specific words in this text, and then try to identify the main message Paul is trying to convey. 1) First, let's get out of the way the question about the thorn. Literally, (skolops) is a point or prickle - in our text, it's "a bodily annoyance or disability." Of course we tend to take it a step further - some men think that their wife is their thorn, and teenagers have thorns for parents. Others might think it's their boss or a co-worker or another pesty person. But that's not what "thorn" is about - Paul's "thorn" was nothing more or less than a physical ailment - like a blister that never heals. Bible students for centuries have speculated a variety of answers to this question, "What was Paul's 'thorn'"? The best answer supported by Scripture is that Paul suffered from a condition known as "ophthalmania," a disease of the eyes, possibly brought on by a form of malaria. Why didn't Paul come out and say what it was? Probably because it was already very obvious to the first readers of this letter. Besides, his reason for bringing up the subject was not to focus on his own personal problem, but to use this to make the point about God's strength being displayed through man's weakness. Also, notice the language, Paul said this thorn "was given me." He didn't say who gave it to him, but let's not be too quick to say, "Satan," for even though he was involved, according to the understanding we glean from the story of Job, any evil coming to the believer ultimately is from God, or at least comes to them with His explicit permission. 2) Speaking of Satan, what was the role of Satan - the bigger than life enemy of God? Here Satan is associated with the word "angel" (messenger). Let's be careful to note that it doesn't say that Satan was the messenger - the "thorn" was the messenger. In this case, Satan used Paul's affliction as a stick to beat up on him. What is the message? Satan was behind this physical problem with the nagging question, "Where is your God now?" A good question to ask here is this, is the devil responsible for all sickness? While it is true that Jesus healed a few people by casting out demons, most illnesses come as a result of the Fall, so that, not necessarily in a personal sense, but in the larger view, we humans have brought upon ourselves most of our own sicknesses. So why are we so quick to blame the devil? Because he is right there every time, trying to put his spin on what's happening, telling us that there is no God; after all would a loving and all-powerful God allow such suffering to continue? This is all the more true when the "thorn" doesn't go quickly away. 3) The word "torment" in the NIV loses some of the KJV "buffet", which would be akin to our word "pummel". ("kolaphizo" means to rap with the fist) The point we want to make here is that this is real physical affliction. The Apostle Paul certainly was not a "Christian Scientist," nor should he be associated with the extreme faith position which argues that if you don't "confess" your illness, i.e., say it out loud, you won't really be sick at all. Even in our own area, a person with poor eyesight was told that if she gave in and wore her glasses, she would betray her faithless attitude and lose her healing. Actually, the real reason she didn't put on her glasses was that she couldn't see well enough to find them! Although Paul didn't mention the precise name of his illness, for reasons already mentioned, he accepted its reality. Every single day, there would be a reminder of this affliction, like a blister that would not heal. So let's not try to imagine that this verse should be interpreted in any other way than literally - Paul's body was under attack. 4) One difficult part in this verse is that Paul admitted that he had prayed three times, but the thorn was not removed. This of course flies in the face of those who say that we should pray for something only once - to repeat a prayer signifies lack of faith. I guess they would say that Paul ruined it for himself when he foolishly made his request in prayer the second time. Poor Paul - he was born much too early! Evidently the Apostle had the notion that one should pray, and keep on praying until the answer comes. In this, Paul was consistent with the teaching of Jesus when He told His disciples, "men ought always to pray and not to faint" (Luke 18:1), and Paul's own sentence sermon, "Pray without ceasing." (I Thessalonians 5:17) No, Paul didn't receive the answer he wanted, and neither will we. The fact is, if we always got the answer we wanted, in the way we wanted it, right at the moment of speaking it, then we would be the "lord" and Jesus would be our servant. Then there would be no One God, but many gods, actually there would potentially over 6 billion of them! 5) The next word to mention comes when Paul hears the answer, "My grace is sufficient" - it simply means "satisfactory." The idea is found in the little chorus, "He's all I need, Jesus is all I need." The idea is similar to what we hear Paul say in Philippians about being "content" in all circumstances. However, we are careful not to take this too far, as some do in India, where contentment is akin to a life style of apathy. 6) One last idea comes when Paul explains his response to God's answer to his prayer. Paul's language is startling, and a challenge to every Christian who has ever read this passage. In two related phrases, Paul says that he "boasts" (rejoices) in this affliction, and in fact "delights" in all difficulties he is called to bear. For us, this sounds weird. Rejoice in healing? Yes. Delight in a trouble free life? Certainly. But boast about blisters and feel good about problems? No way! However, this is not the same as the Roman Catholic idea that all suffering is good and is necessary to purge us for acceptance with God, "salvation by suffering." But when we "pray through," i.e., pray long enough to either receive relief or hear the comforting message of Grace, we can then, like Paul, rejoice and be pleased with that which we are required to bear, knowing that God will be glorified, not just due to the miraculous healing we may at times receive, but also due to the obvious strength He gives for us to bear the burdens of our blisters. Finally, and simply, the basic message is this: "When feeling beaten up, we should pray for relief, but recognize that being a godly person of prayer doesn't mean all problems will vanish - it does mean that we can expect either healing or grace, and for that we can rejoice." The meaning of Scripture is clear. When we are given a problem that does not vanish with persistent prayer, we will rejoice in the knowledge that through this weakness will shine forth God's strength. While we do believe that faith brings healing, we also understand that faith sustains us when the healing does not come. Most will recognize this as an idea which is opposite to what the world, the unchristian world, thinks. It's the same kind of upside down thinking Jesus uses in His Sermon on the Mount in what we call "Beatitudes." The world recoils: Blessed are the poor? No, blessed, are the rich. Blessed are the sorrowful? No, blessed are the happy ones who party all the time. Blessed are the soft hearted and gentle? No, blessed are the tough, the movers and shakers who get it done regardless of who is run over in the process. Blessed are those who want to do what is right? No, blessed are those who do whatever is necessary to get ahead. Blessed are the forgiving? No, blessed are those who stand up for their rights. Blessed are the ridiculed? No, blessed are the popular people around whom everyone gathers. No, we don't want the blisters, we only want the blessing. I fear that the American form of Christianity has become very anemic. Apparently: We want celebration not sacrifice. We want the perks of comfort, but not the pricks of conscience. We want peace without perseverance, and popularity without performance. We want wealth without work. We seek pleasure and do everything to avoid pain. We want the rejoicing without the repentance, and expect perfection without practice. We seek fulfillment without frustration. We want to play now and - - - play later, too! At the end of the great Psalm 91, we are told that the one who loves the Lord is given this promise, "He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him." (Psalm 91:15) This sounds a lot like the promise given to Jeremiah while he was still in prison. He wasn't miraculously delivered from his confinement, but given this assurance, "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." (Jeremiah 33:3) In the heat of the day, in the toil of life, blisters will come. However, if blisters do bring blessings, the best blessing of all will be when we look to God and hear His reassuring message, "My grace is sufficient for you." Then we can continue on knowing that He will receive honor and glory though our lives because in our weakness, He is strong. Discussions Questions Blisters as Blessings II Corinthians 12:7-10 1. Is a Pastor a Pastor because he is a better person, i.e., more holy than everybody else? 2. How can blisters be compared to conscience? 3. According to II Corinthians 12:7, what may have caused the Apostle Paul to be conceited? 4. No doubt Paul would think we are trivializing his "thorn" by comparing it to a "blister." Why? 5. What "spin" did Satan provide in the Garden of Eden? 6. What will you answer when someone asks, "Why does a loving and all-powerful God allow suffering to continue?" 7. What is the difference between "faith" and "denying symptoms"? 8. When Scripture reports that Paul prayed 3 times, does that imply a rule of thumb for our praying, a kind of "three strikes and you're out" rule? 9. What story did Jesus tell to impress the importance of persistence in prayer? 10. Normally we think of "grace" being "the unmerited favor of God." However, a different kind of "grace" is talked about in the assuring message, "My grace is sufficient." What kind of "grace" is that? 11. The Roman Catholic church teaches that suffering purifies the soul and makes one acceptable to God. What is the problem with this teaching? 12. Paul uses two words when describing his reaction to the answer he received from God. What are they, and why do they seem odd to us? 13. What comfort is available in the promise, "I will be with him in trouble." (Psalm 91:15) - - Return to Top of this Page - Email a Link to this Page - Go To Next Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick - Back To Sermons Page or to the Sermons Alphabetical List - - Download This Sermon This Page's Title Is: Your Name Is: Your Email Address Is: Your State and Country: Please identify your vocation: Senior Pastor. Associate Pastor. Youth Pastor. Lay Minister. Church Member. Which section of this site would you most likely return to? Sermons Articles Stories Poems Hymns Articles for Leaders Marriage Articles A Bit of Humor Would you like to receive the free weekly E-mail Circular? 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