IT'S A HUMBLING JOB, BUT SOMEBODY'S GOTTA DO IT

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. (2 Corinthians 12: 8)

Paul had a problem, a major problem.  He called it a thorn in his flesh.  We don’t know for certain what this “thorn” was, but it was bad.  Paul called it a messenger of Satan.   It buffeted Paul.  (Buffet means it beat him down.)   Three times he went into extended prayer, begging God to take it away. 

God had saved Paul from shipwreck, preserved him from stoning, delivered him from prison, and neutralized the venom of an island viper that bit Paul beside a campfire.  But this thing----this thorn in Paul’s side---- God refused to remove it.

In fact, it was God who sent the thorn to Paul in the first place.    

Now why would God afflict His personally called apostle to the Gentiles with a thorn in his flesh? Why would God afflict His most prolific New Testament author with a messenger from Satan to beat him down.

Paul confessed the reason:  lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations.

Paul had a problem with pride.

Sometimes he got full of himself.  Just skim through 2 Corinthians and look at all the times and ways that Paul used the word boast or its translate equivalent.

Paul found it hard to humble himself.

So God did it for him.

For Christians, especially for Christians called to a level of extraordinary service, God DEMANDS humility.

But He offers a choice in the way we acquire humility.

We can (a) humble ourselves

if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face (2 Chronicles 7: 14)

Now when the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, “They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance. (2 Chronicles 12: 7)

Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18: 4)

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.  (James 4: 10)

Or (b) God will do it for us.

People shall be brought down, Each man shall be humbled, And the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled (Isaiah 5: 15)

And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.  (Matthew 23: 12)

But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” (James 4: 6)

Paul taught a lot of spiritually correct things about humility and esteeming others better than ourselves (Philippians 2: 3); but Paul wasn’t good at practicing the humility that he preached.

Paul didn’t do a very good job of keeping himself humble, so God sent a thorn in the flesh , a messenger of Satan to do it for him.

You and I have a choice.  We can learn from Paul’s experience or we can share in Paul’s experience.

Something to think about the next time you assume that your story is the most important story they'll ever hear.

Something to think about the next time it's has to be cheating, or nepotism, or racism, because it's impossible that anybody was actually just ---- better.

Something to think about the next time you walk into a room thinking how blessed these people are to have YOU there.

Humbling you is a dirty job, but somebody's going to do it.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama, executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO) and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com

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Hall Memorial CME Church

541 Seibles Road

Montgomery, AL 36116