If you’ve been praying for God to remove it and He hasn’t, this might explain why.
To listen while folding laundry or sitting car pool line, click play….

This is Her View of His Grace, where we’re living, learning, and seeing it all through the lens of His grace.

Women are incredible at carrying the world. Especially working moms. We wake up, then we wake our “world” up. We get everyone where they need to go, keep the plates spinning, and stay on call for our families all day. Then we carry the load of the afternoon and evening routines. Practices, homework, dinner, laundry, pets, the little details nobody else sees, and the emotional temperature of the house.

By the time it gets quiet, we are not resting. We are recovering from the daily weight of holding everything together. And sometimes we are so tired from surviving that we don’t even have margin left to pursue what God is calling us to do.

That’s why I want to talk about grace, not as a pretty church word, but as power. Because there is a kind of strength God gives that you cannot manufacture.

The Scripture

2 Corinthians 12:7–10
“By reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations, that I should not be exalted excessively, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, that I should not be exalted excessively. Concerning this thing I begged the Lord three times that it might depart from me. He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Most gladly therefore I will rather boast in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest on me. Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, and in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then am I strong.”

Paul calls it a thorn. People have debated for centuries what his thorn was. It could have been physical. It could have been internal. It could have been external opposition. It could have been social pressure or relentless criticism. Scripture does not tell us, so we do not get to be dogmatic.

But we do get to be honest about this, Paul had a weak place that stayed with him, and it kept him aware of his need for God.

When I say thorn, I do not mean sin. Sin invites repentance. Weakness invites grace. In this context, Paul is talking about weakness, not rebellion. He is not saying, “I need forgiveness.” He is saying, “I need sustaining power.”

That matters because many women live under constant shame for being human. We confuse weakness with failure, and we start hiding the very places where God wants to meet us.

Grace means power for the place you feel weak

When Jesus says, “My grace is sufficient for you,” the word for grace is charis. Yes, grace includes unearned favor, but in this context it also carries the sense of God’s active help, His enabling presence. It is not only kindness toward you, it is strength given to you.

“Sufficient” means enough, enough to cover, enough to hold you up, enough to carry you through.

Then Jesus says, “My power is made perfect in weakness.”

Power is dunamis, real power, Spirit power, not hype, not adrenaline, not self improvement energy. This is the kind of power that holds you steady when you should be unraveling. The kind that gives words when you have none. The kind that sustains obedience when willpower is gone.

And “made perfect” does not mean you become flawless. It means power reaches its full expression. Weakness becomes the place where God’s strength shows up unmistakably.

That is why Paul can say something that sounds upside down, “When I am weak, then I am strong.”

The thorn that keeps lurking

I know what it is to have a weakness that feels like it is always lurking, like it is waiting to poke at the worst moments. For me, anxiety and depression have felt like that at times, like a tent peg I did not invite, but I still have to live with.

Here is what that thorn tries to do. It tries to make you shrink back. It tries to make you numb out. It tries to make you believe you cannot be used. It tries to convince you that your weak place disqualifies you.

But Paul teaches the opposite. Weakness is not disqualification, it is often the doorway.

So let me ask you gently, what is your thorn of weakness? Not the sin you need to repent of, but the limitation, the heaviness, the struggle, the place you keep trying to outgrow so you can finally be ready.

Sometimes those thorns are exactly what would keep us from living our purpose, unless God meets us there.

Moses had one too

Moses is one of the clearest examples of this. God calls him, and Moses responds with what feels like disqualification.

Exodus 4:10–12
“Moses said to Yahweh, ‘Oh Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before now, nor since you have spoken to your servant; for I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.’ Yahweh said to him, ‘Who made man’s mouth? Or who makes one mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, Yahweh? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall speak.’”

Moses says, “I am not good at this.”

God does not argue with Moses’ weakness. He answers it with presence.

“I will be with your mouth.”

That is grace.

Grace does not always remove the weakness. It meets the weakness with God Himself.

Where the supernatural starts

Some of us keep trying to be God. We keep trying to carry outcomes. We keep trying to manage everything so nothing falls apart. We keep trying to stay strong so nobody worries. We keep thinking that if we can just get past the thorn, then we will finally be ready for purpose.

But God is waiting on us to stop carrying and start depending.

This is where the supernatural starts happening in our lives. This is where grace steps in. This is where you see yourself do things you never thought you could do. This is where you say things you never thought you could say. This is where you see the Spirit move in situations you did not see coming, at the dinner table, mid conversation, in the middle of a moment you could never manufacture on your own.

Because God carried you.

And it is undeniable.

Reset step for this week

This week we are practicing one exchange, strength for grace, bracing for dependence. Do this once a day, and especially in the moment you feel the thorn poking.

1. Open your hands or put your hand on your chest.
2. Name it honestly, “Lord, this is my thorn.”
3. Ask in one sentence, “Give me Your grace here.”
4. Take the next right step, not the whole plan.

You are not trying to become a different person overnight. You are practicing what Paul learned, you can stop striving for strength and start receiving grace.

A simple prayer

Lord, I have been strong for too long. I have carried what was never mine to carry. I keep trying to outrun my weakness instead of letting You meet me in it. Your Word says Your grace is sufficient and Your power is made perfect in weakness. So I am coming to You with my thorn. Teach me dependence. Teach me trust. Let Your power rest on me in a way that is unmistakably You. By the power of Jesus, let it be so.

Freebie

This week’s blog is all about the grace of God meeting us in the places where we feel weak, limited, and unable to carry it all. For many moms, one of those weak places is watching our teenagers form friendships we cannot fully control. That is exactly why this week’s freebie matters. Praying for Your Teen’s Friendships is a simple way to bring that burden to God and receive grace right in the middle of it.

Download the Week Three Walk Card inside the Reset Room.

Let me know I’m not the only one, what weakness have you been trying to hide or outgrow instead of letting God meet you there? Share below.

Until next time, sister… live through the lens of His grace. 🤍