“Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.” (2 Corinthians 12:7)
I tried to not look at the needle, but it was there, positioned in my Physician Assistant’s hand like a hornet with a long stinger. “You’ll feel a little sting,” he said as he proceeded to plunge the thin dagger into my knee. The cortisone flowed out and into my joint and then it was over.
It was bound to happen. About sixty years of playing basketball and running long-distances had brought me to this point. All the pounding on asphalt roads and sharp cuts made on the court had produced the arthritis that was getting more painful. This basketball season I had found it hard to assume my usual stance in front of our bench, which resembles a baseball catcher’s position. I found myself SITTING on the bench more than I ever have.
Sometimes a small pinch in the journey of life is a wake-up call about a person’s life situation. The poke of a needle is necessary to avoid unnecessary pain. Truth be told, many of us avoid the pinch and try to pretend there will be no pain.
My “pinch” is the person who will tell me the truth…when I’ve come off as harsh with one of my grandkids…or when I’ve avoided talking to someone because I dread it…or when someone asks me matter-of-fact how healthy my walk with the Lord is…or bluntly informs me that what I said was self-centered and ignorant.
All of us need that pincher who brings momentary pain for long-term health. Like Nathan confronting David with his sin and saying, “You are the man!” (2 Samuel 12:7).
The thing is those who pinch us don’t get invited to many parties or are asked to come over for Thanksgiving Dinner. Confronting is much more risky for the truth-teller than the one told the truth.
I trusted that my P.A. knew exactly what he was doing, that the needle of redemption was in his hand and he was doing what needed to be done. We wish the Paul would give a few more juicy details about what the thorn was that kept irritating him. “A messenger of Satan” sounds pretty dark! But maybe that messenger caused Paul to look within, to come to grips with his new identity in Christ, and to have the resolve to meet the enemies of the gospel without fear.
Who would have thought a poke, a pinch, could have such positive effects?
Words from WW Blog 