God assured Paul of his power and presence, but also gave him a thorn in his flesh to keep him humble, to keep him from falling into a spiritual death-spiral. God calls us to confess our sins that we may be healed, an acknowledgement that sometimes our sickness and suffering may be a divinely-ordained consequence for sin (James 5:14ff). “What son is there whom his father does not discipline” (Hebrews 12:7)?

In our pain we know God is not absent, but in our pain we also wonder whether God is present. Or perhaps more correctly we wonder how God is present.

In times of great grief or dark uncertainty we cling to the reality that God is a loving Father who has welcomed us into his family—we are his beloved children. We dwell on the promise that he will never leave nor forsake the ones he loves—he will preserve us to the end. We hold to the knowledge that even our worst experiences are somehow being used to accomplish something beneficial—all things work together for good for those who are loved by God. We reflect on the sure and fixed hope that Christ will return and in that day bring an end to all pain and sorrow—he will right every wrong.

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