6 Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, 7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 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 weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
– 2 Corinthians 12:6-11

For decades, much speculation has occurred about what Paul’s thorn in the flesh was or was not. I will not take up that debate here but instead, I wish to focus on the one phrase that recently captured my attention: “But he said to me…”
Normally when someone says “but”, what follows is not something we want to boast in. It’s not always something we’re going to find helpful, encouraging, etc. Yet, when the “But he said to me…” comes about in Paul’s life, what follows is an exhortation to view his thorn as beneficial and Paul does just that in turn. As a friend of mine recently said, “God bless Paul!”  I know that I don’t always react with a “therefore, I will all the more gladly boast in my weakness” kind of a response.

Paul reminds me of a few things:
The thorn in my flesh does matter. It’s okay to ask God to remove it.
God’s assurance is that the thorn will never become more than I can handle.
God is letting me know that the thorn really is beneficial–even if it doesn’t feel like it.
God’s grace is sufficient–especially when it doesn’t feel like the thorn is beneficial.
My weakness is a breeding ground for God to manifest His grace.
My weakness is a prime opportunity to invite God’s power to rest upon me–the very time when I need it most.

Boasting in my weakness is opposite world thinking–and that’s the very point of embracing the thorn as beneficial.

May the phrase “But He said to me” become a motto that invites us to offer up the thorn as a beneficial site for God’s grace and power to take up residence.