2 Corinthians 12:9 Context
Second Corinthians is a letter written by Paul the apostle to the church at Corinth, which is in modern-day Greece. The themes of the letter include suffering, forgiveness, and generosity.
2 Corinthians 12:9 Meaning
In his second letter to the church of Corinth, Paul has a lot of hard things to say—hard both in the sense that they are difficult to understand as well as sometimes being unpleasant to hear.
An example of the latter is that he admonishes the disciples for their divisiveness and defends himself as an apostle of Christ.
An example of the former type of “hard thing” is that in this chapter, he talks about “a man” who was “caught up into the third heaven.”
What does this mean? There is much debate, but most believe he is talking about a special revelation he himself had.
From there, perhaps even more confusingly, he says that God gave him a “thorn in the flesh” so he wouldn’t be conceited. What was that thorn? Again, there is much debate.
But regardless of what that thorn was, he goes on to say that he prayed for it to be taken away, but God refused. Instead, God said that his own strength was made perfect in weakness.
This sounds discouraging at first, but in fact it’s good news of God’s power and grace. He may not answer our prayers the way we expect or even want, but he always turns bad things on their heads.
He redeems things, making weaknesses strengths and overcoming evil with good. For this, we can be thankful.
2 Corinthians 12:9 Application
Do you have a thorn in the flesh? Something that makes you feel weak or embarrassed? If so, take it to God and ask him to remove it. He may or he may not, but know that he will turn it around for your good and his glory.
“The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.”