In order to keep me humble with knowledge of what God is doing for me, I was given the gift of a barrier, the very thing that holds me back, the thorn in my flesh. It was given to me years back to keep me in constant touch with my limitations.

Satan did his best to get me down but what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty and forgetting thankfulness for the blessings of God!

At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and I cried 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 that I let it happen. I quit focusing on the impediment and began appreciating the gift. It was a constant reminder 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 thing that I used to look at as a thorn in my flesh is one of the very things that keeps me so close to God. No rose is complete without the thorn “Don’t beat yourself up about it. It wasn’t a bad thing, it was a God thing.”

2 Corinthians 12:79 (Tanisha Lashelle’s Version)