This familiar phrase comes from the apostle Paul, who admitted that he suffered because “a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me . . . Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness’” (2 Cor. 12:7–9). Paul may have been referring to some physical ailment, though we can’t be sure.
