By Benescke Janse van Rensburg

[One of our readers recently wrote: “Why does it take so long for God to answer my prayers? I've been divorced for 8 years and been praying for almost as long for someone to love and someone who will love me. Also, someone who loves God and who will be good to my two sons. Do I pray in the wrong way? It sometimes feels as if God has forgotten about me.”]

What is the thorn or thorns in your life today? For the above mentioned reader, her thorn is loneliness. I'm sure the thorn especially hurts when she sees a happy couple, hears about a friend who has met a good man or when her two sons find themselves in situations where they need a father figure for guidance and support.

Thorns in our lives are not always negative. Sometimes it is all we need to realize our dependency on God again. Paul realized it. In 2 Corinthians 12: 7-9, he wrote: “And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.  And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Sometimes God quickly removes the thorns in our lives by giving the lonely a spouse, by curing a disease or turning an unbelieving spouse or child’s life around. Other times it takes longer. And sometimes, like with Paul, God never removes the thorn because it serves a specific purpose and keeps us close to God.

Do I say that God will never remove the readers’ loneliness – or your thorn? Absolutely not. God is on a unique journey with each of us. He knows what we can handle and what not, and He also knows the exact right time to remove thorns. Thorns drive us to kneel before God again so that we can experience His power and presence. It enables us to hear his voice again. When we therefore continue to stay close to Him, we will experience how the thorns that initially left us with tears of frustration, turn into monuments of everlasting memories with God, because He is constantly close to us in difficult moments.

Our time on earth is short. It is an opportunity to get to know our Creator more intimately as we strive to become more like Jesus. Let us therefore praise God - whether He removes the thorns or not. If we can do that, we are truly free. God bless.

Father God, thank you for being much closer to me than I think or feel. Help me to keep my eyes on You in the midst of thorns that sometimes hurt, knowing that You will not allow anything to cross my path that I will not be able to handle. I ask this in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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