Though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. 7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. ESVUK

It is a fact that God wants humble people in His service. It is also an irony that when he blesses someone with a profound spiritual experience, they are in danger of becoming ”conceited”, and there is also the possibility of others placing them on a pedestal – thinking of them more highly than they ought.

Jesus taught: ”For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matt,23:12; Lk.14:11). There’s a lot at stake here.

No one knows exactly what Paul’s ”thorn…in the flesh” was. Some believe it may have been the same malady to which he refers in Gal.4:13,14. But the truth is, we don’t know, and God must have a purpose in our not knowing. ‘Thorns’ come in different shapes and sizes. Anything the Lord uses to make us feel our weakness and be dependent on Him is for our good.

Although Paul also refers to his thorn as ”a messenger of Satan”, it is important to remember, as Martin Luther said, that the devil is always ‘God’s devil.’ He is on a chain, and although it may appear to be a long chain, He is under God’s control. He cannot touch us without God’s permission, and what God permits He uses for our good and His glory.