The Gifts from Thorns

Something different for a change.  The Sunday School teacher gave us homework.  He wanted us to write up something like you would find in the "Portals of Prayer".  The "Portals of Prayer" is a daily devotional booklet published by Concordia Publishing House for the LCMS.  For the month of December 2012 each day was about a Gift from God.  So our devotional was to be about Gifts.  Our own version of a Gift listed in the "Portals of  Prayer" or some completely new Gift.  This is my homework.  It may not be the final draft but it will be close.

 

The Gifts from Thorns

Read Psalm 91

“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from being conceited” 2 Cor 12:7 ESV

“From brambles of thorns roses grow”

                                                              Mikhail

To keep Paul grounded in this world, to keep him humble, God allowed St. Paul to develop, as the King James puts it, “a thorn in my flesh”. This thorn forced Paul to turn to God for strength. As he says later in verse 10 “…For when I am weak, then I am strong.” As with Paul so with us. God allows thorns in our flesh to bring us to our knees before Him to seek His strength. God turns our thorns into the many roses of His Blessings.

There was a lady who suffered from many medical problems throughout her life. On one occasion she needed surgery on her foot. On the day of surgery family and friends and her Pastor gathered with her in the hospital. Surgery, even if just on a foot, was surgery after all. Carrying risks. Showing the weakness of the flesh. Her gift of thorns reveled the blessings of family, friends and pastors. Right before the nurses were to take her to the operating room the Pastor prayed with her. Her thorn became the rose petals of Prayer and Comfort.

As her family and friends gathered in the surgical waiting room the Pastor offered a prayer for successful surgery. Her thorn became the blessing of Prayer and Comfort for her loved ones.

As the “Amen” was said they looked up. All the other people in the waiting room were looking at them in silence. These people had been listening too. This lady’s thorn became the blessing of Prayer and Comfort for people she didn’t even know. The Pastor’s prayer had contained the Word of God. The Good News of Christ. The Comfort of the Great Physician. The Holy Spirit working through the Word touched each and every heart in that room. We may never know how many thorns in loved ones flesh caused these people to be in this room at this time to hear this prayer. But God knows and his Holy Spirit will not return to Him void. From the gift of thorns to this one lady the roses petals of blessings surrounded her, her family and friends and perfect strangers. Who but God knows how many were moved that day through the gift of thorns to everlasting life.

There is a poem that begins: “For the want of a nail, the shoe was lost…”

I think it could be rewritten this way:
“For the gift of a thorn, a prayer was said;
For the word of a prayer, a soul was won…”

Our Hymn
“Be still, my soul; the Lord is on your side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to your God to order and provide;
In every change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; Your best, your heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.”
Lutheran Worship 510:1 Amen