2 Corinthians 12:7-10

7To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

This passage gives me a lot of encouragement. We don't know for sure what Paul's thorn was, but like Paul, each of us has a thorn in our flesh that we wish the Lord would take from us. And we see our weakness in many ways--physical problems, broken relationships, worries, various tribulations and struggles with sin. And the devil is always quick to point out our weaknesses and be in our face about them. But actually coming face to face with our weakness is one of the best things that can happen to us. For then we remember Christ's strength is there in our weakness. His power is made perfect in weakness. The words Jesus spoke to Paul are the sames words He speaks to us, "My grace is sufficient for you." Though we are weak, in Christ we are strong; and His strength is perfect.