The other day some of us were helping in the kitchen, and they asked us what we thought of Africa. I said Africa has been beautiful so far, and we have gotten to work with some awesome ministries. I’ve always felt so loved and welcomed by everyone, and I had always felt safe. I told them the most unsafe I have felt in Africa was tenting in a field filled with pokey trees! Actually, it seems like every plant on our compound has CRAZY thorns, and it’s dangerous! If you step the wrong way, you could have.a 3 inch thorn in your foot, but by the grace of God no one has gotten severely jabbed yet, but there have been some close calls!
But living in this situation made me think of how being on the World Race is live living in a beautiful field filled with pokey trees. We get to see giraffes and wildlife and we can gaze at the stars on clear nights, but sometimes we run into thorns and briers. When we run into those pokey things, though, we have a choice. We can choose to stay in the thorn bush and wallow in our pain and choose not to be stuck, or we can pick the thorns off of us and not let them have power over our situation, and keep moving forward.
Satan sets traps and snares in many forms. He tries to trip us up with doubt, jealousy, fear, and so many other things. He does this because he is afraid of us and the power we carry, so when he sees us walking out God’s will, he tries to get us stuck on more and more thorns. The other night after we had group worship, I felt like satan was trying to trap me in lies an insecurities, and my good friend Andrew reminded me that our insecurities are not our own. They are satan’s insecurities. If you have a fear of public speaking, that is because satan is afraid of how you are going to use your voice. If you feel like you are not a good leader, it is because satan is terrified of the things you will lead God’s children into doing. Fear is not of the Lord, it is from satan, and that is why we cannot let fear stop us from living out God’s purpose for our lives. When we see thorn bushes in our path, we can’t run the opposite way. We need to talk into the wilderness because that is where God’s promises lie. And if we happen to get pricked by a thorn, that is not our pain to carry. The thorns that get stuck on us do not define us. We need to hand those thorns over to God, and He will heal us and wash us clean, and remind us of who we are in His eyes.
Paul talks about a thorn in his thigh in some of his letters to churches. I don’t know exactly what his thorn was, but I know its some kind of trial or struggle he was facing. Just like the thorns that sometimes get stuck in us in this field, they try to hold us back and trap us. These thorns are a reminder of our humanity, and that this life is not free of struggles, but if we choose to move forward and glorify God through it, we will strengthen our faith and the faith of those around us. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “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 weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
This world is still His beautiful creation, and even though a rose may have thorns, those thorns do not take away from the beauty of the flower. Sure, we may get snared by the struggles of this life, but we can’t forget God in all of this. No matter how tired or hurt we may feel, if we turn to God in those moments of weakness, He will refill us with His strength, and He will be glorified through it.
