How is everyone doing today? I hope well. So anyway, I was reading 2 Corinthians 12:7-8 a couple of nights ago during my devotion time, and this bible verse specifically popped out at me and I figured that I should write a blog entry about it. Here's the Bible verse: "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. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me." ~2 Corinthians 12:7-8. So, in other words, this Bible verse is telling us this: "We don't know what Paul's "thorn in the flesh" was, because he doesn't tell us. Some have suggested that it was malaria, epilepsy, or a disease of the eyes. Whatever it was, it was a chronic and debilitating problem, which at times kept him from working. This thorn was a hindrance to his ministry, and he prayed for its removal; but God refused. Paul was a very self-sufficient person, so this thorn must have been difficult for him.
Three times Paul prayed for healing and did not receive it. He received, however, things far greater, because he received greater grace from God, a stronger character, humility, and an ability to empathize with others. In addition, it benefited those around him, as they saw God at work in his life. According to his sovereign plan, God doesn't heal some believers of their physical ailments. We don't know why some are spared and others aren't. God chooses according to his divine purposes. Our task is to pray, to believe, and to trust. Paul is living proof that holy living and courageous faith do not ensure instant physical healing. When we pray for healing, we must trust our bodies to God's care. We must recognize that nothing separates us from his love and that our spiritual condition is always more important than our physical condition. Now, your probably wondering why I chose to write about this Bible verse. Well, the answer is the fact that I can relate to what this verse is saying because in the past, I've had a few "thorns in my side" so to speak. For example, My car was driving me nuts, so God told me to donate it, and that's exactly what I'm doing. Another example is my job situation, now that's a bit more difficult to figure out. I've been praying a lot lately about possibly a new direction for a career in my life, I'm praying that I end up finding a good, steady, full-time job, that has good money, good hours, good benefits, local, and something that I will enjoy doing, because at my current job, I no longer enjoy doing it. I want to do something better, but like I said before, I don't know where to go or what to do from here. So, I'm also praying for the Lord to redirect my thoughts and my path in life. Mainly on the job situation at hand. Everything else in my life is going pretty well, I hope that things in my life start to move along a little quicker. I feel like God might be preparing me for something more in my life, it's just a matter of time, and driving and whatnot.
In addition to the above paragraph, I feel as if I'm getting closer and closer to this new thing about to happen in my life. I don't exactly know what it is yet, but I'm sure that I'll figure out what exactly it is soon. However, I am noticing that my Church is slowly growing as well, that is definitely an amazing thing, we just need more people to come, so that it can grow faster. For months, even years, we've been praying for a revival to happen in that church. Our Pastor, told us that it takes about 3-5 years to grow, well, Christ the King Church has been in effect for about 3 years now, and surprise, it's actually happening! So, amen to that! You see, persistent prayer works, we just need to keep on keeping on,and it'll happen as sooner and as faster than we think. On a different subject, I've been praying for a couple of months now, for a certain someone to get a promotion at work, because he honestly deserves it. He's an incredibly hard worker, faithful, reliable,and sincere. So, nobody deserves it more than he does. So, I'm praying and hoping that all of this will come into play as soon as possible, because he also needs this, as much as I need a brand new career and path in life as well, know what I mean? I sure hope so. My prayer list keeps growing and growing as the days go on. So much so, that I don't even know where to start when it comes to praying at night before I go to sleep, and praying during the day before I go to work.
