Paul’s Vision And Thorn in The Flesh

II Corinthians 12:1–10
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Just as God permitted Satan to test Job (Job 1-2) and Peter (Luke 22:31-34), so He permitted Satan to attack Paul. To avoid exalting himself he describes these experiences in the third person. 

1.     The Revelation (vv. 1-6). 14 years before the writing of this letter, Paul had been caught up into the very presence of Christ in heaven (v. 20). Paul was not quite sure whether God had taken him bodily to heaven or whether his spirit had left his body. Possibly this was when he was stoned, and his broken and bruised body lay in the dust near Lystra (Acts 14:19). At any rate, Paul had kept quiet about this experience for 14 years. If he had been seeking honor for himself, he would have immediately told what had happened and would have become famous. Instead, He exercised discipline and told his experience to no one.

2.     The Thorn in the Flesh (vv. 7-10). The Lord knows how to balance our lives. If we have only victories and blessings, we may become proud; so, He permits us to have burdens as well.  For this reason, he permitted his dear apostle to have a “thorn in the flesh."  We do not know what it was except that it was some annoying, painful, and persistent source of suffering. Some Bible schol­ars think it was an eye affliction of some kind (Galatians 6:11). Three times Paul asked the Lord to remove it but instead He just gave him the grace to endure it.  

Application

God did not give Paul any explanations but gave him His grace. When I face obstacles, it is only by His grace and His power that I will be made effective to do a work that has everlasting value.