A THORN IN THE FLESH
Finding strength and hope amid suffering
By Pablo Martinez. IVP. 184 pages. £7.99 (£6.39 from Amazon!)
ISBN 978-1-84474-188-5
In my experience, there are two types of books: the type you read, or part-read, and then leave on your shelf, and the type you read and then lend to others. This book is of the latter type. Based on the apostle Paul’s deeply painful experience, it has been written for people enduring a ‘thorn in the flesh’. Such thorns are defined with maximum breadth to cover all situations of chronic suffering, whether longer term illness, personality traits or relationship difficulties.
The author, Pablo Martinez, is a church leader and psychiatrist, both of which are immediately obvious when you begin reading. The book has been written to be profoundly biblical, and the serious attention to God’s word combined with clinical insight gives the book a special blend of principle and application. Its particular strength is that it is immensely practical, and guides the reader through the process of accepting suffering, then adapting to suffering with new perspectives and changed attitudes. It is worth reading for the treatment of grace alone in Chapter 5, because this is no ‘self help’ book! Always the reader is urged to faith in our sufficient God and Saviour.
