"And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field" (Gen. 3:17-18).

The Lord says, "As a lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters."  His lilies, His sheep, are often getting pierced and caught in the "thorns."  These "thorns" are not pleasant; they cause continual pain and discomfort if they are not pulled out right away.

The Lord knows all about "thorns."  They crowned His head and pierced His skin; He knows how painful they are.  But let us never forget that they are His thorns.  He has created them for a good and wise purpose.

Paul learned this truth and therefore he could most gladly bear with all that the Lord gave him (II Cor. 12:7-10),  So did Job.  When he saw and heard of God's strength and wisdom, he didn't complain anymore (Job 38:1-40:4).

Oh, may we train our minds, by God's grace, to see that all the thorns that pierce us are just the spoils of our enemies, and we are to take these and use them to build the house of the Lord just as David did.  He saved all the spoils for his son, Solomon, to build the glorious temple of the Lord (I Ch. 29:19).

Our enemies can only take from us that which is perishing for that is the only power that they have.  But our Savior can take the sin (the evil) that rises up within us when they
wound us, and turn it into pure gold to build His temple, as we submit gladly to His working, turning the evil into good and glory (Jas. 1:2-4). 

When the Lord moves us out of our comfortable pattern of life, let us see this as "His green pastures" that He has prepared for us, and feed upon them.  He will always give joy for sorrow, peace for anxiety, love for hatred, wisdom for foolishness, riches for poverty, strength for weakness, comfort for discomfort, and life for death.  See every "thorn" as a means to produce a beautiful lily - His lily - whose glory will be even greater than Solomon's (Matt. 6:28-30). 

The Lord mastered and ruled over all His pain, and because He did, His crown of thorns was turned into a glorious crown of life.  He will do the same for us as we follow Him wherever He goes (Jas. 1:12).

"Behold your master Gardener!"