A thorn was given me… to torment me, to keep me from being too
elated. 2 Corinthians 12:7.
In 2 Corinthians 11:23-29 Paul lists the handicaps and discouragements
that befell him. He also had a physical problem of some sort – a ‘thorn
in the flesh’ – to keep him from becoming too proud.
At the age of 39, in the prime of life, polio struck Franklin Delano
Roosevelt. He couldn’t walk, stand without support, and was, as one
doctor put it, ‘a goner below the waist’. Look at this proud, wealthy,
famous man who felt terribly humiliated being carried up and down
stairs… and so hour after hour he’d crawl over his library floor like
a child, and day after day he’d haul his dead weight up the stairs by
the power of his hands and arms, step by step, slowly, determinedly,
until he was covered with perspiration and trembling from exhaustion.
But then he would try again – and again.
But after this illness, Roosevelt’s name became synonymous with help to
the downtrodden, the weak, the helpless, and the fearful. Describing
this transformation of character, this moving from surface to depth,
from cleverness to compassion, from haughtiness to humility, John
Gunther says that ‘polio was God’s greatest gift to Franklin Delano
Roosevelt.’
May the example of these brave people spur me on, too, Lord. If they
can do it, so can I. Here we go! Amen.