WHAT ABOUT THE THORN?
2 Corinthians 12:7-9 NKJV
7 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.
A lot has been said about Paul's thorn in the flesh over the years. Maybe you have been taught that it was a sickness. Some have said Paul had an eye disease. This is because Paul wrote to the Galatian church and told them that, at one point, they would have plucked out their own eyes and given them to him. But we have to distinguish a colloquial phrase versus an actual event. We use the phrase: they would give someone the shirt off their back. This is not literally giving a shirt, but an expression of generosity. So going back to Paul, if he did have an eye disease, I don't think the Galatians plucking out their own eyes would have helped him. Paul was expressing the Galatian's heart of love for him.
The challenge with attributing Paul's thorn in the flesh to a sickness is the word used for 'messenger of Satan' does not in any way allude to a physical sickness. Messenger is the Greek word aggelos. That word appears in the New Testament over 170 times. And each of those times, it is translated as angel, angels, messenger, or messengers. The word is never used to indicate sickness but rather as one sent to announce or proclaim. And notice that Paul says a messenger of Satan. Jesus says the thief, speaking of Satan, comes to steal, kill, and destroy. So this Satanic messenger was sent to cause Paul problems and torment. And God did not send it. If God had sent the Satanic messenger, then Paul would have been out of line asking the Lord for it to depart from him. When God said His grace was sufficient to deal with Satan's messenger, Paul stopped asking. He started being glad that when he had no power in himself, the power of Christ would be enough. God never said His grace was insufficient.
Here is another thought. Some translations of verse seven read that this messenger of Satan was given to Paul to keep him from exalting himself. I don't see God using demonic powers to keep His children humble. And if Paul were exalting himself, he would already be in trouble because God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. And He that exalts himself will be humbled. It just doesn't add up that God, the One giving Paul abundant revelations, would then give him a Satanic messenger to keep him humble. Exalted above measure could mean that Paul, because of the abundance of revelations, was walking in a power and freedom that made him a threat to Satan and Satan's kingdom. And we know that to be true. Everywhere Paul went, he operated in the power of God, and mighty signs and wonders were evident through his ministry. Paul went to places that had been Satanic strongholds for thousands of years and brought light and life through the gospel. It wasn't God trying to slow Paul down. It was Satan.
Another reason I am not a proponent of Paul's thorn in the flesh being sickness is the reason for the thorn. Paul said it was because of the abundance of revelations that the messenger of Satan was given to him to trouble him. Most people I know have not received the abundance of revelations on Paul's level, so they shouldn't get Paul's thorn.
My last reason for believing Paul's thorn is not sickness is observing the life of Jesus. Everywhere Jesus went, He did the will of His Father. Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead, comforted the hurting, and delivered the oppressed. Not once did He make anyone sick or torment them mentally. Jesus was and is the solution, not the problem.
So, if you are dealing with sickness or some kind of tormenting trouble, the good news is that you don't have to identify with Paul's thorn. Instead, identify with God's grace that is sufficient to heal, help, comfort, and strengthen you in your time of need.