2 Corinthians 12:7-9 CSB
especially because of the extraordinary revelations. Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so that I would not exalt myself.
[8] Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it would leave me.
[9] But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.

Some situations and people will task our strength, patience, endurance, and anything else they can sap from us. No matter how patient we are, there will always be that person or thing that will make us wish, pray, or cry for more patience.
We often find ourselves doing so when we face storms of life, we look for a quick and easy fix when it seems like either God has forgotten us or is ignoring us.
Wherever we are right now in life, be it on the mountain, the valley or the wilderness, the grace of God will always be available to us to see us through the process.
My grace is sufficient! Paul says in our text that God’s grace “is sufficient” (in the present tense, always there whenever we need and acknowledge it). He goes further to state that God’s power is constantly available in equal measure, His power is made perfect in our weakness. Paul’s earthly weaknesses just like ours are God’s way of demonstrating his power.
This emphasizes the constant availability of God’s grace and power in every believer’s journey, season, and trial.
The grace and strength of God are available for anything!
First, we don’t know what Paul’s thorn was, but we read that he asked the Lord three times to remove it, rather than doing so, the Lord reminded Paul, as He does us, that His grace is enough for us.
What thorn are you experiencing, and what challenges do you think the Lord should take away? Paul, a motivating, passionate visioner, humbled by the thorn in his life, could have given up because of the irritating thorn when God didn’t take it away, instead, God gave him the grace to manage the thorn and carry on.
The thorn kept Paul humbled and not become proud. Is the Lord using whatever thorn irritating you to keep you humbled and dependent on Him?
Just as the Lord gave Paul the grace to overcome the irritation of the thorn in his flesh, the Lord can do the same for you, if you’ll only allow the grace to truly be sufficient for you.
Some of the trials we face are not a punishment from God but a humbling thorn to keep us grounded and not puffed up but it’s only through discernment according to 1 John 4:1 that we know what spirit is troubling us.
The Lord told Moses and the Israelites that if they failed to drive out the inhabitants of Canaan from the land in Numbers 33:55, they would become thorns in their sides.
Notice that Paul didn’t get angry at the thorn or with God. So many of us get to the point of railing at God in anger for not delivering us as we think we deserve. Like Paul, our thorns should make us weak and fully dependent on God. We should understand like Paul did, that the weaker we get, the stronger God become within us.
Our weakness is always an opportunity for God to manifest His glory and power, showcased by His grace. His grace is always sufficient for us, and His power is available to us. Don’t suffer outside God’s grace.
Shalom