A seaman meets a pirate, and they take turns boasting of their adventures on the high seas. The seaman notes that the pirate has a peg-leg, hook, and an eyepatch. The seaman asks “So, how did you end up with the peg-leg?” “We were in a storm at sea, and I was swept overboard into a school of sharks. Just as my men were pulling me out a shark bit my leg off,” the pirate replied. “Wow!” said the seaman. “What about your hook”? “Well…”, replied the pirate, “While my men and I were plundering in the Middle East, I was caught stealing from a merchant and the punishment for theft in the Middle East is the loss of the hand that steals” “Incredible!” remarked the seaman. “How did you get the eyepatch?” “A sea gull dropping fell into my eye.”, replied the pirate. “You lost your eye to a sea gull dropping?” the sailor asked incredulously. “Well…”, said the pirate, “…it was my first day with the hook.”

Can you relate to this pirate? Trials come, one after another sometimes. Some we bring on ourselves. Most come when we least expect them.

Paul is one of my favorite characters from the Bible. Bless his heart—I know he could relate. He was even a seaman, well, sort of. During his ministry, he was shipwrecked 3 times. Now I ask you who gets shipwrecked 3 times? Paul does. Wouldn’t you stay off boats after the first one? But if he had, he would not have fulfilled what God had for him to do, and we might not be talking about him today.

He was stoned and left for dead.  The Bible said he got up and kept walking, kept preaching. He was thrown into jail at least twice and, even in jail, God used Paul in mighty ways as he witnessed to Roman guards who spread the message of Christ far and wide. And he wrote many of the books of the Bible.  He was one of the greatest teachers who ever lived and much of his teaching was written from prison and God’s still using him today.

When the time came where he could brag, God gave him a thorn to keep him humble. He had so much to brag about, He chose to brag on God.

2 Corinthians 12, Paul writes, “I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

During my life, I have often found myself weak, and I have certainly had my share of thorns. God has always been faithful in my life and shown His strength in my weakness. The thorns were there for a purpose. Through it all, God has been so good to me. I cannot thank Him enough for His grace and His mercy. He continues time and time again to carry me through and give me strength when I have none.

The things we go through can leave us weak and vulnerable to the emotion of despair. It can paralyze and debilitate even the strongest of souls. I cannot imagine the struggles you have been through. We all bear crosses. I know you understand about despair.

Pressures from every side can be perplexing; persecution can make us feel as though we’ve been struck down. When life is filled with despair, we must not give up. Instead, we can turn to God, our loving Father, and His powerful Word to give us strength when we are weak, to help us endure even with our thorns.

Dear Lord: We praise You for Your roses, but often we forget to thank You for Your thorns. You are God and we are not. Thank You for holding us through our storms, and strengthening us when we are weak. As Your Word says, “Your love reaches to the Heavens. Your faithfulness stretches to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains.” You are more than capable of helping us through whatever we face. Thank You for knowing what we need more than we do. You have a plan to prosper us and give us a hope. Our hope lies in You. Thank You for wearing the crown of thorns for us. By Your example, let us see the value of our thorns and always praise You for them.

Please bless those who are reading this with a beautiful Thanksgiving. If there is someone who has not accepted You as their Lord and Savior who tries to face the battles of life alone, I pray that they would ask You to come into their heart today and be saved. Please lead them to talk with me or someone else who can counsel with them about that most important decision. Thank You for the redeeming blood of Your Son Jesus Christ. I am so thankful that He endured the thorns for us. Amen

Please share your comments, thoughts and experiences. Thank you for reading and sharing my blogpost today. May God bless you and your family this Thanksgiving!