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使徒保罗对神非常忠心，然而他却“有一根刺……在（他）的肉体上” —— 可能是一种令他甚为烦恼的疾病，他称之为“撒但的差役要攻击”他。我们不清楚这根刺是什么，但它却令保罗感到比所期待的自己更软弱。

刺能刺痛、撕破和刺伤人。然而，保罗这个例子指出，因着他肉体上的那根刺，神能够更有力地在他里面作工。

虽然保罗曾三次求主拿走他那根刺，但主的回应是：“我的恩典够你用的，因为我的能力是在人的软弱上显得完全。”（参林后 12:9）

保罗指出，有一根刺加在他身上，是要使他“免得……过于自高。”意思是说，保罗知道，如果他没有这根刺，他可能会变得自高自大的。所以，保罗教导我们，他肉体上的刺其实对他有益处；这是神赐的恩典，免得他成为教会中自高自大的领袖。而我们也当然为此感谢神。

这并不表示我们应当求神赐我们一根在肉体上的刺，我们相信神最知道什么对我们最有益处。然而，假若神真的容许某些特别的苦难临到我们，我们也可以相信衪能够把苦难变为祝福的，就如保罗在另一卷书所说的：“我们晓得万事都互相效力，叫爱神的人得益处，就是按他旨意被召的人”。（罗 8:28）

The apostle Paul was dedicated to God. But Paul had a "thorn in the flesh"—possibly a disease that bothered him quite a lot. He called it "a messenger of Satan, to torment" him. We don't know what it was, but somehow it made Paul weaker than he wanted to be.

Thorns prick, scratch, and wound. However, the point of Paul's example is that because of his thorn in the flesh, God was able to work through him more powerfully.

Although Paul pleaded three times with the Lord to take his thorn away, the Lord responded, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

Paul notes that he was given his thorn "in order to keep . . . from becoming conceited." This means Paul knew that if he did not have this thorn, he could have become proud. So Paul is teaching us that his thorn in the flesh was actually a good thing. It was a sign of God's grace to keep him from becoming a proud leader in the church. And we can surely thank God for that.

This does not mean we should ask God to give us a thorn in the flesh. We can trust that God knows what is best for us. But if God does allow us to have a particular kind of suffering, we can also trust that he can use it to do good. As Paul writes in another place, "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).