My Thorn

Has there ever been anything in your life that you would like to change, but have been unable? I know there are wrinkle creams and diet schemes and hair dyes every shade you can imagine. What I mean is something about you, like a health problem or the desire to change a feature about yourself. I know and fully believe that God is able to heal and change whatever He desires to change, but what if He chooses not to, what then?

There is a feature about myself that I tend to find quite annoying and that, unfortunately, I have let steal my peace over and over again. It's a simple, silly thing, really, and when you come right down to it, pales in comparison with what so many other people have to face. The Bible says that God never gives us more than we can handle, but often times gives us just a little bit to stretch us. If this were a pass/fail test, then I would have failed miserably a long time ago. Fortunately, I don't think God is pass/fail in this case. I think that He's allowing it to stretch me and teach me that it's not about me (possibly about my attitude, but not about me). This thing is silly (and I think you'll think I'm silly if I tell you what it is), but it's been my own little thorn, similar to what Paul was discussing in 2 Corinthians 12. He said, "Even though I have received wonderful revelations from God...I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan...," (vv 7). Paul never revealed, that I have seen, what his "thorn" was. He did say, "Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away," (vv 8). But God allowed it to be a learning tool for Paul, as He has allowed this thing to be a stretching tool for me. God said to Paul, "'My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness,'" (vv 9).

So what is my thorn? It's an allergy. I am allergic to things scented that touch my skin: body washes, lotions, soaps. Now that you know, I hope you will not think less of me. I have allowed this thing, this allergy, to steal my peace and squash my joy. Before I started writing this, this morning, I was reading an e-mail from a friend who quoted Mother Teresa at the end of her e-mail. She said, "It's not how much you give, it's how much love you put into the giving." Too often, I've given myself a pity party because I could not use and enjoy a gift because of my allergy. What my attitude kept me from seeing was the love and thoughtfulness of the person giving the gift.

Lord, forgive me for my attitude and lack of appreciation. I know that these gifts have not been maliciously bought to frustrate me. They've been gifts of love and thoughtfulness and if I could just move my attitude out of the way, I would have seen that. Lord, forgive me for all the times I've let the devil steal my peace and my joy in this situation. Help me to have a better attitude and appreciation of the person. Lord, thank you for this revelation. Devil, just so you know, I'm gonna keep my peace and my joy, from now on. In Jesus' name, Amen.