I found this article very interesting. The vast majority of commentaries I have ever read all agree that Paul’s “thorn” was some type of physical ailment. Pastor Ortlund has a different take But what was the thorn? Speculation does us no good. We do not know. And that is just as well, lest those whose afflictions are of a different nature than Paul’s feel disqualified from applying his teaching to their own hearts. Is it a physical ailment one can speculate or as I often have noted, why only here would Paul complain about something physical when every other thorn or complaint is Spiritual?
Why was a thorn given to Paul in the flesh? What was the thorn? Was this the Lord’s doing or Satan’s? How did Paul respond to this affliction? Dane C. Ortlund unpacks this passage and what it means for us as Christians.
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