Your Thorn Has A Benefit

Have you ever wondered why those beautiful long-stemmed roses, which are symbols of love, have thorns? The thorns seem to be a defense mechanism against the gentle hands that want to hold them! Sometimes, we are faced in life with a thorn that appears to be more of an annoyance. But what if your thorn was there to help you?

Midway through my career, I was offered a desirable assignment. It came with a team member who was very unhappy that I received the job instead of him. He became “a thorn” in my side; an unpleasant challenge that would not stop. He seemed to do everything he could to prevent me from succeeding. His actions were hurtful.  However, they were subtle enough to seem innocent to others. 

No amount of prayer and fasting drove my thorn away. That forced me to constantly go the extra mile to ensure I operated with excellence. My “thorn” actually drove me to sharpen my skills and deliver my best. Failure was not an option. I believe God allowed that thorn to help my development.

Similarly, there is this guy named Paul in my favorite book, the Bible. Paul explained that God allowed him to have a thorn in his flesh to keep him from becoming conceited. It forced him to be humble and get closer to God. He prayed for God to take it away multiple times but God’s response? “My Grace is sufficient for you.” 2 Cor 12:9 (NIV)

You may be in a desirable situation (aka a rose) with one exception. You have this nagging issue handicapping you, or a co-worker who is a constant painful challenge to you (aka a thorn). What should you do?

Take a step back, enjoy the rose and look for the positive in the situation. Not only can this action decrease your stress, but it can also increase your emotional intelligence. We can find benefits in our thorns.

Enjoy your rose and manage the thorns. God could be allowing your thorns to help you grow.

The Benefits of Our Thorns

Our thorns may have benefits that we miss due to our focus on the problem. Here are seven benefits we may notice – if we take the time to look.

1. Thorns force us to get closer to God. Have you noticed how problems force us to call on God for help? Unfortunately, it’s most often after we are all out of options. In reality, our first stop should be to pray to God for help.

2. Thorns help us remain humble. Sometimes, our thorn provides a humbling experience like being a mirror to show us our handicaps and vulnerabilities and the fact that we are not flawless. 

3. Thorns sharpen our skills. We have to practice and work at not getting stuck by a thorn. Most often, this means being the best we can be and striving for excellence.

4. Thorns help us remain accountable. When no one else is checking, that thorn will definitely inform us when we falter in our responsibilities.

5. Thorns help us strengthen a weakness we may not be acknowledging. Thorns have a way of testing us in every area we do not want. They force us to work on improving even the soft spots in our skills that we want to ignore. 

6. Thorns help us become more empathetic to others based on our experiences. Whether you have overcome a thorn or currently dealing with one, you will listen more and become more understanding of others with similar challenges.

7. Thorns build resilience in us. We become less stressed over the situation when we learn to manage the thorn. While it won’t be smooth sailing, the leadership scars we develop from dealing with the thorn strengthen our resolve and ability to handle future challenges with grace.

Intentionally enjoy your rose (situation) and be careful of the thorns (painful challenges) by managing them. This means it’s OK to pray about the situation but remember roses do have thorns and God may be allowing your thorns to help you grow and develop.

Empowered Leader Reflection

Think about that thorn you have been praying to get rid of. How can it sharpen or strengthen you to be a better leader? 

If this resonated with you, I would love to hear about it. Leave a comment below.

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