2 CORINTHIANS 12:7-10
Enterprise, Alabama, has a well-known monument, like many other towns. But the Enterprise memorial is unique in its own right. The statue honours a beetle’s achievements rather than a prominent individual. This boll weevil traveled from Mexico to the southern US in the early 1900s. Within a few years, it had completely wiped off cotton harvests, the main source of income. Farmers started cultivating peanuts out of despair. They acknowledged that they had been overly reliant on one crop and credited the beetle for pushing them to diversify, which boosted their prosperity.
The boll weevil is comparable to those things that enter our lives and undo everything we have worked so hard to achieve. It causes destruction, which can be financial, emotional, or physical – and it is scary. However, as the inhabitants of Enterprise discovered, losing something familiar presents an opportunity to learn something new. God might put us through suffering to force us to break a harmful habit or pick up a new virtue. In order to teach Paul about grace, He placed a thorn in his flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).
We can see every adversity as a chance for God to instill a new virtue in us rather than trying to hold on to outdated habits that are no longer useful.
Bitter experiences are often used by God to improve us.
🙏 Lord help us know that the thorns can be means of priceless gains.
REFERENCE:
Lorraine Boissoneault, May 31, 2017. Why an Alabama Town Has a Monument Honoring the Most Destructive Pest in American History
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/agricultural-pest-honored-herald-prosperity-enterprise-alabama-180963506/
(Accessed October 03, 2022)
