Thorns of trials.
Thorns of affliction.
Thorns of adversity.
Thorns of all kinds.
Thorns pricking. Briers sticking. Thistles piercing.
Pricking thorns of...
* abuse
* divorce
* addiction
* a lost job
* failing health
* loss of a home
* financial disaster
* a friend’s betrayal
* a teen making bad choices
The enemy stands ready to prick us at any time with adverse
circumstances.
However, sometimes we find ourselves being pricked with the
barbs of consequences when we lean into an avoidable situation, something God’s
Word clearly states that we are to shun.
If we lean into wrong desires, our
hearts will be pricked with the thorns of heartache and sorrow.
If we lean into improper thoughts,
our hearts will be pricked with the thorns of guilt and remorse.
If we lean into fleshly lusts, our
hearts will be pricked with the thorns of shame and regret.
Sometimes, God will remove the
thorns; however, on occasion, He will leave them for our good, as when He left
Paul’s thorn to prick him when he leaned into pride.
I wonder if we ever thank the Lord for the thorns? What? Thank Him for a trial, a heartache? All
things work together for good, remember? So says Romans 8:28.
The next time a thorny ordeal is pricking you, remember the
words of this prayer by George Matheson, a blind Scottish theologian and
preacher in the late 1800s...
My, God, I have never thanked Thee for
my thorn. I have thanked Thee a thousand times for my roses, but never once for
my thorn...Teach me the glory of my cross; teach me the value of my thorn. Show
me that I have climbed to Thee by the path of pain. Show me that my tears have
made my rainbow.
He thanked God for his blindness. Is that something we would
do?
What did David say? “I will praise the Lord no matter what
happens. I will constantly speak of His glories and grace.” (Ps. 34:1 TLB)
What about Habakkuk’s attitude? The prophet asserted his
faith in God and promised to praise Him, even if all else failed, “Even though
the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vine; even
though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though
the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will
rejoice in the LORD!
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation.” (Hab. 3:17-18 NLT)
Being thankful is easy when everything is hunky-dunky, but
the praise that emanates from a pain-ravaged heart, pressed by a thorn, is the
sweet-smelling sacrifice of holy incense that rises to the throne room and
lingers at the Father’s feet.
But what of those times when our hearts are pricked with
grief?
Once I heard a song of sweetness
As it cleft the morning air,
Sounding in its blest completeness,
Like a tender, pleading prayer;
And I sought to find the singer,
Whence the wondrous song was borne,
And I found a bird, sore wounded,
Pinioned by a cruel thorn.
I have seen a soul in darkness,
While its wings with pain were furled,
Giving hope and cheer and gladness
That should bless a weeping world;
And I knew that life of sweetness,
Was of pain and sorrow borne,
And a stricken soul was singing,
With its heart against a thorn.
We are told of One who loved us,
Of a Savior crucified,
We are told of nails that pinioned,
And a spear that pierced His side;
We are told of cruel scourging,
Of a Savior bearing scorn,
And He died for our salvation,
With His brow against a thorn.
We “are not above the Master.”
Will we breathe a sweet refrain?
And His grace will be sufficient,
When our heart is pierced of pain.
Will we live to bless His loved ones,
Tho’ our life be bruised and torn,
Like the bird that sang so sweetly,
With its heart against a thorn?
~ Author unknown
Do you sing and thank the Lord when a thorn pierces your
heart with pain?
Today, I’m hooking up with...
Soli deo gloria...
On, In, and Around Mondays...
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