Pulling Thorns

Are you limping around with a spiritual problem? Let God
deal with it!

By Michelle Hancock

A few weeks ago as my family was preparing for church, I was assisting my children in their efforts to get dressed. We had almost finished the process, having arrived at the task of socks and shoes, when I noticed my three-year-old daughter was walking on her tiptoes. “I need help with my socks,” she cried.

“Come over here and Mom will help,” I responded. As she came my way, I asked, “Nicole, why are you walking on your tiptoes?” She assured me anxiously that it was simply because she wanted to, but her answer was not convincing. Upon examination of her feet, I found that she had a rose thorn embedded in the bottom of one of them. When I indicated that the thorn had to go, she pleaded with me just to cover it up with her sock, as if that would take care of the problem. She was convinced it would hurt too much to try to remove it. I got out what I call my special “sliver-removing set” consisting of tweezers and needle. Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle. A brief moment of pain and the thorn was out, and Nicole was jumping around the room, exclaiming, “I knew it wouldn’t hurt!” Her father and I just laughed.

“Thorns” in our spiritual lives

A parallel can be drawn between my daughter’s situation and one we may find ourselves in spiritually. Many times there are things in our lives that cause spiritual “pain” or hindrance. Rather than allow the Lord to remove the problem, we try to limp or tiptoe around—afraid it could be too painful if we were to allow the Lord to remedy the situation.

What are some of the “thorns” that we may find in our lives? For each of us it may be something different, and the thorn that is troubling us today may be something different from the one that bothered us three years or three months ago.

Disappointment can be a thorn—disappointment with others, with ourselves, with situations. The list can go on and on. Perhaps a relationship did not turn out the way we had planned and we have bitterness in our hearts about the outcome. I was speaking with an older member of our congregation the other day on this very subject. She said that we all have times in our lives when someone will disappoint us or make us upset. How we deal with the problem is of paramount importance. Can we possibly have something against someone while here on earth and expect to dwell in harmony up in Heaven? That kind of thorn must be removed if we are to progress spiritually.

Another thorn that may be present in our lives is discouragement. Discouragement is closely related to disappointment, but there is a distinct difference. Disappointment usually focuses on one particular thing that did not happen. Discouragement is more of a general feeling of dismay and can be completely unfounded. Many times the devil will try to discourage us about the spiritual, physical, or emotional situations in our lives, telling us that things could be better or that we just are not good enough. We may spend our days trying to compensate for such feelings. However, God knows us better than we know ourselves, and when He points out something in our lives that needs to change, He does so with love. This is in strong contrast to the way the devil drives thorns into us!

The remedy

What about fear? Anxiety? Frustration? Regardless of the nature of the thorn, we know that it must come out. God would have us bring all of these situations and feelings to Him. The Bible tells us in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Surely, a God who loves us this much has only our good in mind. Though we try to avoid things that seem to be painful, if we bring them to the Lord, He is able to remove the thorn and give us a more joyous walk with Him.

The next time you have a problem or situation that is causing you pain, take it to the Lord in prayer. He will remove the thorn so you can begin to walk as He would have you to walk.

Michelle Hancock a member of the Apostolic Faith Church in Eureka, California where her husband is the pastor.