When our youngest granddaughter was 5, she was already showing signs of being a very determined young lady. She could be very persistent when she wanted something.
One Wednesday evening, her brother was sick. Her mom, our daughter, stayed home with him and sent our granddaughter to Bible class with her dad. Dad had other things on his mind as they got in the car.
Getting into the car, our granddaughter pinched her finger. She immediately informed her dad that she needed a Band-Aid. Her dad took a quick look at her finger and told her she was fine. They went on to the church building; and she went on to Bible class but reluctantly, still insisting that she needed a Band-Aid.
They have Bible class first and then a devotional at the end. Our son-in-law is the minister, so he was at the front of the auditorium for extending the invitation. Our granddaughter sat with some friends a row or two from the front. At the end of his invitation our son-in-law said, “And if anyone has a need, please come now.” You can guess what happened. Our granddaughter walked to the front, held up her finger, and declared emphatically, “Daddy, I need a Band-Aid.”
This story reminds me of the apostle Paul. In II Corinthians 12, Paul talks about a “thorn in the flesh” that was given to him. He said this infirmity was given to him, “lest I be exalted above measure”.
Paul pleaded with the Lord three times that He would take this away, but the Lord said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness”.
Paul was persistent. He wanted this problem to be removed, but God felt it was necessary for him to keep whatever it was that was wrong with him. We don’t know what the infirmity was, but we know that Paul decided to accept it.
Some people accuse God of bringing illnesses on them or causing bad things to happen to them. Bad things are a natural result of the sin of Adam and Eve. God doesn’t cause us to get sick, have accidents, or suffer loss. It is the way things are in the natural course of living our lives.
Several years ago the co-teacher in my Bible class had cancer. The children prayed for her, but she passed from this life. The children in the class asked me why our co-teacher couldn’t get well. In trying to explain the loss of this precious lady I told them that getting sick is part of living. If we never became ill, we would just want to stay on this earth forever. That is not God’s plan.
Death began when Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden. No one is going to live forever. That is why God provided us with a way to escape eternal death. Physical death is inevitable, and spiritual death is inevitable to those that won’t obey God’s commands.
No one could have done more to destroy the church or the cause of Christ than Paul did when he served the Roman government. Yet in Acts 9, we can read of his conversion. He was struck blind on the road to Damascus as he traveled to persecute Christians. The Lord spoke to him and sent him into the city where Ananias was sent to teach him the truth. Saul, as he was called then, heard the word, believed it, confessed his sins, and was baptized into Christ.
When God sent Ananias to him, the message was clear. “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake” (Acts 9:15-16).
So a “thorn in the flesh” was just one of things Paul had to suffer for Christ. He was beaten with thirty-nine stripes five times by the Jews. Three times he was beaten with rods. He was stoned once and shipwrecked three times. He suffered many other perils (II Corinthians 11:23-27), but he never departed from the faith.
We all need a “Band-Aid” from time to time, but what lies ahead for those who stay faithful is a permanent fix for what ails us.
Sandra Oliver