Thankful for Thorns

This past weekend we had a devotion about roses in my gardening group, and it really got me to start thinking about those hurtful thorns on the beautiful rose bushes. I don’t like picking roses because of the thorns. I am often very clumsy, so I am pretty sure I would prick myself and cause myself much pain if I got close to rose bushes. I am not even sure why roses need to have thorns except maybe for some type of protection, so I went to do some research. Google AI gave me a quick summary.

Rose bushes possess sharp projections—technically called "prickles" rather than thorns—primarily to deter herbivores, anchor themselves to other plants for climbing, and protect against environmental damage. These epidermal outgrowths act as a physical defense mechanism to prevent animals from eating leaves and damaging new buds.

God has purpose for those thorns or prickles. We may feel that a person or situation may be the proverbial “thorn in the side”, but God may allow this for our spiritual, emotional and mental growth. The Apostle Paul learned that the thorn that was giving him problems, was God teaching him about His grace.

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. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

God’s grace is indeed sufficient. And we can experience this sufficiency when we encounter thorns in our lives. These thorns humble us and make us understand our need for God in our weakness. If it were not for these thorns our pride could possibly take over as we may give in to self-sufficiency, forgetting that we should have complete reliance on the Lord.  And God hates pride so He will humble the proud and probably even humiliate them. Remember Nebuchadnezzar?

At the end of the twelve months he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?” While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.” That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws. Daniel 4:29-33

Reading about Nebuchadnezzar, I am thankful for thorns that keep me humble. Thorns, although painful, can demonstrate God’s love for us when He uses them to humble us as He does not bless pride. So, that thorn could be a blessing in disguise. Plus, we learn that His grace is more than enough when we are weakened by these thorns. However, thorns can also be His punishment for disobeying Him.

Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. Genesis 3:17-18

Disobedience can bring thorns into our lives. Therefore, it behooves us that we do not rebel against God and we heed His words. After all, He gives us commandments because He loves us not because He wants to restrict us as many people think. When we remember the thorny situations which may have taken us off God’s path and may have led to great hurt in the past, then this should make us more cautious in the future to keep away from anything or anyone that may distract us from God’s purpose in our lives.

But the sons of rebellion shall all be as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands. 2 Samuel 23:6

Sometimes we try to hold on to thorny people who may hurt us when we should be letting them go.  But we need to be careful about whom we believe we should not have in our lives because God may have brought some prickly people in our lives to produce perseverance in us, to build our character, and to even let us have more hope in Him. We should be prayerful knowing that God may want us to help these people grow closer to Him as they may be a lily among thorns. He could be guiding us to remove the thorns in their lives as those thorns can choke out His word so that they will never be grounded in it. Yes, we may get hurt in the process, but isn’t that what Jesus did? He took the crown of thorns on His head, and his body was pierced for our sins because He loved us. I am thankful that Jesus wore those thorns on His head for us, even though we didn’t deserve it. So, what in turn should we do to help those difficult thorny people experience His love?