The Answer Came....The Thorn Remained

"My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).

On this present journey which may continue for many days or years, I often feel like I am stuck in this vicious, unending cycle. Good news comes, but is short lived. Bad news comes and outstays its welcome.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) morning, Micah will have a bone marrow test. His white blood cell count has been low. But one specific type of white blood cell, called neutrophils, has come back either at zero or one for the past four days. These cells migrate quickly toward a site of infection or inflammation to help the body (immune system) attack the infection. The fact that Micah's have been zero or one leave him at risk should he get any type of infection or bacteria. Should that happen, his body would be hard pressed to fight.

The concern is that the PTLD may have gotten into the bone marrow. If so, my understanding is that Micah would have to undergo chemotherapy treatment. The bone marrow test will help determine this by indicating whether the bone marrow is producing these cells as it should.

Once again it is as if the bad news keeps coming (or the possibility of bad news), while the good news is scarce. It is so easy to be discouraged; so easy to become frustrated or angry. At times I feel so weak and depleted. Sarah and I have prayed for the Lord to heal Micah of this. We may have prayed as earnestly as we prayed for God to heal him when we learned of the biliary atresia. Yet God has not chosen to remove this.

The Apostle Paul encountered a situation for which he experienced hurt and pain. While we don't know what his thorn in the flesh was, we know it must have been difficult for Paul to carry. We know this in part because he prayed three times for the Lord to remove it. He didn't just make a request. He begged God. The NASB uses the word implore. While we don't know what the thorn in his flesh was, we also know why it was given and the answer to Paul's request.

The thorn was given to Paul to keep him from becoming arrogant over the vision he had seen of Paradise. And the answer to his request was clear: "No." God refused to remove the thorn in his flesh. I believe the answer was no for several reason. First, if God took it away, Paul could certainly still exalt himself and become conceited. Second, the thorn would always push him to depend not on himself but the Lord. Third, when God works in spite of our visible and obvious weakness, we are unable to take the credit and He gets the entire spotlight. So God left the thorn so He might receive the glory when His work was demonstrated in spite of the weakness of man. And finally, it simply was not within the framework of God's will. Had it been God's will, certainly He would have done so. The answer came and the thorn remained.

But we cannot miss something so incredible here. God didn't just say "no". He promised to give that which would make the thorn bearable--His grace! To Paul, the Lord said, "My grace is sufficient for you..." In other words, "Paul, I'm not taken it away. But I am giving you what you need to live with the thorn." Then, the Lord's power would be demonstrated even in spite of Paul's weakness. It isn't that weakness is a prerequisite for divine power. Rather, it is just that God's divine power is more evident through human weakness. Therefore, the Lord Almighty gets the glory for what happens.

So as I think about the news of negative nature that keeps coming, I must let God's word remind me that in spite of what Micah faces or what we endure, the Lord's grace is sufficient. That means, it does not lack and it will not fail. His grace will strengthen and sustain. I certainly don't know where the road goes from here, but I know the road is paved with God's grace. The bumps, the potholes, the roadblocks and more are bearable when faced with the grace of God. So while we have prayed, the thorn has remained. But the answer has come...and His grace will be sufficient.

We would ask that you continue to pray for the bone marrow test that will take place in the morning. Please pray that we will gain insight and clarity as to whether the bone marrow is producing or not. We certainly pray there is another explanation other than the bone marrow. As soon as we know, it will be posted here. Thank you for praying! God does always answer. He does answer "no" at times just like with Paul. But He always answers! Thank you for praying!