How do we measure up when we experience accidents, opposition, and bad breaks? I think when turning points become obstacles our attention focuses on finding the quickest alternative route back to easy street. This is certainly a hard knock life and storms come and go but what happens when God tells us to shelter in place in times of eminent danger? 2 Cor 12:7-10 of The Message paraphrase pinned the nail on the donkey and it says, “Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.” The exact nature of Paul’s thorn is uncertain. However, some say it was pride and others say he was being persecuted because of his ministry. There is probably a good reason that we don’t know. God likely wanted Paul’s difficulty to be described in general enough terms to apply to any difficulty we may face now. Whether the “thorn” we struggle with today is physical, emotional, or spiritual, we can know that God has a purpose and that His grace is all-sufficient. Look at this way, Jesus measured up and he was given a crown of thorns (John 19:2) that later became our emblem of victory!