"This autoimmune disease is my thorn in the flesh, just like Paul had."
How it sounds in your head: Paul had his thorn and still did great things for God. Maybe this is yours—your Hashimoto's, your lupus, your rheumatoid arthritis. Maybe you're supposed to just manage it and let God's strength be perfected in your weakness.
"So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?"
-- Luke 13:16Religious misinterpretation of Paul's thorn, turning it into permission for permanent sickness instead of recognizing it as a messenger of Satan he resisted.
You've heard this verse quoted every time you've asked for prayer for healing. It gives you a spiritual framework to stop fighting and accept chronic disease as your assigned weakness.
She was bent double for 18 years, unable to straighten herself at all, bound by a spirit of infirmity. Jesus called her forward, spoke one word, laid hands on her, and IMMEDIATELY she was made straight and glorified God—no process, no waiting.
I REFUSE the lie that autoimmune disease is my assigned thorn. IT IS WRITTEN that I am a daughter of Abraham and ought to be loosed from every bond Satan has attempted. Paul's thorn was a messenger of Satan—which Jesus always expelled, never endorsed. My Father does not give good gifts of righteousness and then assign permanent sickness as my weakness. IT IS WRITTEN that Jesus took my infirmities. I am under the BARAK blessing, redeemed from the curse of the law. Autoimmune disease is not my identity—healed daughter is.
Your Father isn't assigning you a disease to keep you humble—He's already given you the humble position of beloved daughter who did nothing to earn it. He's running toward you with healing, not resigned acceptance of bondage.