And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.  (8) Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.  (9) And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”  Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  (10) Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The second letter to the Corinthians was written by the Apostle Paul.  In the verses we study today Paul is responding to the attacks on his integrity and on his divinely authorized apostleship.  Paul tells of his most sacred of experiences – of visions and revelations from Christ the Lord.  He does not boast of these but refers to himself in the third person – “I know of a man in Christ….” – his point being that he, Paul, could not claim credit for any of these experiences.  He was purely passive.  But while these were sacred to Paul, they could also generate spiritual pride and Paul tells us that the counter weight to the revelations – a direct result of his numerous glorious experiences – was a nagging, persistent and painful problem – “a thorn in the flesh”.  And we are told that the thorn has a satanic source.

Paul does not want to glory in his experience but is apparently forced by the extreme situation in Corinth to even mention these visions.  Paul glories in nothing but his own weakness.  He speaks of it because of the spiritual significance – it actually explains the evil and the good of suffering.  Through Gods grace Paul’s strength is made perfect in his weakness – the power of this grace outweighs the trial of a thorn in his flesh so much so that this, not his visions, is the matter of which he boasts.  This is the triumph of Christ’s spirit within him:  God’s grace is given to those who accept His will.