Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times. – Genesis 31:41, KJV

You have a thorn in your flesh. It’s not an illness or financial distress or a huge decision you are fretting over. It’s a person. This person opposes you at every turn, acting like an enemy whose sole goal in life is to make you miserable. You may wonder, “Why has God placed such a person in my life?” There are several possible answers to this question, but the one possible answer you may not have considered is that God is using this person to show you the flaws in your own character.

Sometimes God puts people in our lives that have character flaws similar to our own. Oftentimes He places these people in authority over us, and He allows us to suffer at their hands so that we might gain an understanding of how others suffer at ours. Take, for example, Jacob and Laban. Genesis chapters 31 and 32 detail the departure of Jacob from his father-in-law Laban’s house in Padanaram. During the departure, the two men confront each other, and Jacob chronicles the many ways that Laban has deceived him during the past twenty years. Ironically, the reason Jacob came to Laban’s house in the first place was to save himself from the consequences of his own deceit (See Genesis 27:41 – Genesis 28:1-5; Jacob flees Esau after stealing Isaac’s blessing from Esau), and after twenty years of being the victim of Laban’s schemes, it appears Jacob grasped the depth of his own character flaw.

Just before reuniting with Esau, Jacob wrestled with God in the wilderness. During that night of struggle, God replaced Jacob’s name “Jacob,” which means “supplanter,” with “Israel,” which means “contender with God.” Why? After twenty years of being the victim of deceit, Jacob understood the sinfulness of his deceitful ways and repented of them. He ceased contending with man through deceit and began contending with God through obedience. God recognized this change of heart in Jacob, and he commemorated the change by giving his servant a new name.

If you are suffering at the hands of another, analyze yourself. Perhaps the Lord has placed that person in your life to serve as a mirror to reflect a character flaw he wants you to see in yourself. If you recognize such a flaw, confess it immediately and sacrifice it on the altar of God. The sooner you learn your lesson, the sooner God will remove your thorn from you.