What happens when you get a splinter in your flesh?  If you are like me, you've probably had a few in your lifetime.  They hurt like crazy and you cannot rest until you dig it out with a pin or needle!  But do you know that God deliberately allows "splinters" in our lives?  Hard to accept that thought... right?  We don't always know the reason for them but God revealed to Paul the reason for his "splinter in the flesh".  It was to keep him from being "excessively exalted."

Paul prayed three times to have this splinter removed but God said "NO".  You see God's power is at its strongest in us when it is tied to the "splinter that afflicts us". Our thorn is meant to drive us closer and more dependent on God.  When Paul got this revelation about his thorn, he wrote "...for whenever I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor. 12:10).  He realized the "splinter" was for his good!

Am I saying you should not ask God to remove difficulties in your life?  By all means no!  If you have a "splinter" that refuses to go away, maybe God wants you to experience His grace and power through dealing with that problem.  He wants you to move from your prayer for deliverance to praise and thanksgiving.  You will quickly realize that His grace is all you need and that He is at His strongest when you are at your weakest.