What is your thorn in the flesh?

Luís Alberto Alves

“And so that I would not be exalted by the excellence of the revelations, a thorn was given to me in the flesh, namely a messenger of Satan to buffet me, so that I would not exalt myself”, 2 Corinthians12/7. This passage is famous and most Christians know it. When the apostle Paul complained to the Lord three times, and heard from Him that His Grace was sufficient for him.

No one has known to this day what this thorn in Paul's flesh was. Several theologians wrote studies, but no one explained exactly what this thorn was, which tormented the apostle day and night. When we are all in Glory, walking the streets of gold, contemplating all the beauty in the Heavens, we will be able to resolve this doubt with him.

But I warn brothers and sisters that all of us who were rescued from the clutches of the devil, who kept us trapped using the ropes of sins, have a thorn in our flesh. The memory of where we came from, what kept us tied to the world and far from Jesus Christ.

Darkness

Remove from your mind that you are a super Christian or a super Christian! We are dependent on Jesus Christ and his infinite Mercy. The devil and his demons watch the Lord's servants, because whoever is not converted to Jesus Christ is already trapped in his hands. The concern of darkness is to try to bring anyone who once left there under the influence of hell.

Imagine someone addicted to alcoholism. A person whose breakfast was a glass of drink and repeated this gesture throughout the rest of the day and part of the night. I started at home, on the way to work I would stop at a bar and drink again, at lunch time I would put more drink in my system, when I returned home the drink would be present and before going to sleep I would also drink.

The darkness will not attack this person rescued from the rotten world of alcoholism with drugs, because cocaine, marijuana, heroin, morphine or any other type of drug will not awaken desire in this person. She had no contact with this when she was a slave to the devil. Drink was the thorn in his flesh. It is at this point that the demons will work intensely.

Drunk

Tactics vary, but always with the same focus. Alcoholics will appear as false friends, parties filled with lots of alcohol, invitations to a company, school, college or event where alcohol is present. Some envoy will say that Jesus turned water into wine (and wine is an alcoholic drink), so it is not a sin to drink one or more glasses of this drink.

Satan will create situations for the former alcoholic to feel embarrassed. The director or manager of the company where he works decides to raise a toast for the month's excellent results and everyone must drink along with him. The lack of spiritual firmness will make this Christian fall into the devil's trap and take the first drink, then the second, the third until he gets drunk.

It is in this gap that the devil will use someone to say the famous phrase: “I didn’t know that believers drank to get drunk”. The dirty work is done. Unable to drive, he will not be able to return home and if he tries to take the car he could cause an accident and the problem will worsen. The next day, the reputation of a good servant of Jesus Christ will be destroyed. Few will give credibility to someone who was seen as an example, but gave a terrible testimony in front of many.

Alcohol

Even with many years in the presence of Jesus Christ, the thorn in the flesh of alcoholism will be in this person's life. It will serve as a reminder of where the Lord rescued you. If he has great intimacy with God, he will have the discernment to not fall into this trap of the enemy. He will look at the drink and for seconds he will feel attracted to it, but the Holy Spirit will soon catch him to prevent this fall. However, the devil, always repetitive, will never give up attacking this weak point.

At this time it is necessary to remember what is written in 1 Thessalonians 5:22 “Abstain from every appearance of evil”. Anyone who has been freed from alcoholism is not recommended to frequent environments where drinking predominates. If you have a birthday party at your home, do not allow alcohol to be present to please a guest. He should not have as friends alcoholics and especially people who refuse, of their own free will, not to follow Jesus Christ.

Even at the company's famous get-together parties, stay away from the crowds where beer, caipirinha, wine and whiskey are present. Make it clear to people that you don't drink. Do this in an orderly manner, without needing to argue or appear arrogant. Don't make the mistake of harming yourself to please others.

Ritual

The same rule applies to those rescued from drugs. The first piece of advice is to stay away from people who use this type of poison. If you accept Jesus Christ, you need to change your life. Leave bad habits behind. Keep away from places where drug dealers sell drugs. Don't make the mistake of going there, alone and without spiritual support, to evangelize. The devil may use someone to bring you back to the hell you came from.

All the tools Satan and his demons will use to try to remove the sheep that one day gave up drugs from the path of Christ. It will always put someone with a history of this poison in the path, especially false friendships. Even in the sentimental area, he will try to work for a person, a user, to enter the path and, with the excuse of finding Jesus, lead the convert astray.

Because the drug addict promises to take the last dose every day, and this ritual is repeated for a long time. Without spiritual strength and the desire to change his life, drugs are his refuge. In this person's mind, the drug is what brings happiness (even for a few seconds). And in this Russian roulette of hell he will sink deeper and deeper into this mud until he loses his own life. If you have a recent convert or even someone weak in faith on your side, they will enter this boat of darkness.

Good

Female or male prostitution is another area in which the darkness invests heavily. Most of the time, people far from Jesus Christ have no idea what this sin is. For her, having sex with someone is good and provides seconds of extreme pleasure, because sex has the ability to provide ecstasy. Whether a man or woman, still far from Christ, believes that sex is something for personal satisfaction, they never imagine that God reserved these good moments for marriage.

How many beautiful women prostitute themselves to have a good financial life? They believe that they combine the useful with the pleasant: money and pleasure! Is not true. Studies show that most prostitutes are depressed. They live and die alone. Since there are few people who marry a call girl, who has already had sex with more than a thousand or 3 thousand men or women. To support relationships, sometimes painfully, they take drugs.

Other women, in exchange for a good boss, agree to live temporarily with elderly people, receiving money for moments of sexual pleasure with those people. The famous sugar babies. Apparently it's something harmless. After all, the devil will never offer his trash in an ugly package. Pay attention to the packaging. The young woman enters this trap and when she tries to get out it will be too late.

Pleasure

Men, many without Christ in their hearts, consider nights in brothels to be natural. With money in hand, he satisfies the fantasies that he cannot fulfill with his wife at home, with those women who pretend love and pleasure, because of the money in his hands or checking account. How many executives or senior employees of large companies have not been left in poverty because of spending on prostitutes? Many marriages have ended in divorce because of this too.

This person accepts Jesus Christ and decides to change his life. Will the devil give up on her? Never! He knows that the thorn in the flesh of this convert is prostitution. He will continue hitting this button until the day he embarks for Heaven. He will create situations to try to justify falling into this sin. Sometimes he will use the wife or husband to throw that person into this search for pleasure. If he is a woman, he will try to attack her financial life and put someone with a lot of money in front of her to force her to do some program.

In the case of the man, if he is single or divorced, he will bring some woman disturbed with this evil spirit of prostitution to try to seduce him. If faith is weak, the person cannot resist and falls into the trap. The devil's plan is to rescue the convert from the presence of Jesus and bring him to the rotten world where this someone was trapped for many years and brought joy to the darkness.

In the case of the man, if he is single or divorced, he will bring some woman disturbed by this evil spirit of prostitution to try to seduce him. If faith is weak, the person cannot resist and falls into the trap. The devil's plan is to rescue the convert from the presence of Jesus and bring him to the rotten world where this someone was trapped for many years and brought joy to the darkness.

Temptation

In this text I could list different types of thorns in the flesh that exist in this world. Describe how you act and the reaction in the person’s life. But I would have to write countless lines. Because we all have this thorn. No one is tall enough. He was born and lives in the presence of Jesus Christ without ever having suffered any type of temptation. Jesus himself was tempted by the devil, imagine we are people who depend on the Master's mercy to stay alive!

I learned in a cult aimed only at men, that temptation is not faced, it is avoided! The servant of God cited the case of Joseph before Potiphar's wife. She attacked him several times trying to get him to bed. Last time, the escape valve was running away. Usually the temptation is very strong. The devil will hit hard to try to remove the convert from the Lord's paths. He will use sophisticated ammunition and mechanisms to swing a person's heart and mind.

Every person reading this text knows and knows their weak point. Don't fall into the illusion that you are immune. It's a lie. The name varies, but they all have the same objective: “to reach you and keep you away from Jesus Christ”. The advice I give you, my brother and sister, is to pray to God to keep you. Always send your angels to hold your hands firmly so that you do not stumble with your feet on stones thrown by the devil in your path. And always run away from anything that looks evil, even beautiful. Stay in the Peace of the Lord.

Luís Alberto Alves, is a pastor.