Sufficient Grace

The bad news comes.  There is pain.  There is sorrow.  There are moments of why me?  Why now?

But the void is filled.  Our all-knowing God knows I would face this situation this day.  He knows I need His words of hope and they are there.

I open up my computer to read my morning devotion and this Scripture confronts me:

“But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. “(2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV)

The writer of this Scripture, the apostle Paul, is to many a conundrum.  Why does a man who has a stable position in society, seem to throw it all away to attach himself to a fledgling group of believers?  How does he go from persecuting them to becoming one of the greatest spokespersons for them ever known?  How does he live through so many trials and still be filled with joy in the Lord?

Paul gave up a good life and what did he get?  His thorn in the flesh which God chose not to remove.  Weeks and months in filthy prisons.  Torture, hardship, and shipwreck causing havoc in his life.

Yet, Paul remembers that when he is at his weakest, God shows Himself as the greatest.  Paul says to all who listen that these great things that are happening are not his doing, but they are done by the grace of Almighty God who works in him and through him.

I might fail, mess up, or have struggles, but God is still there with His almighty power working in my life.  He fuels the fire in me on days when I lack strength and courage to move forward.  His grace sustains this effort; it is not my own strength.  God’s work in my life is not reliant on how good things are going with me at any particular moment or what I can do to make things happen.  His power is most evident when I must embrace His grace and rely totally on Him to help me go forward.  

How grateful I am that God reaches down to each of us with His all sufficient grace and mercy.  God will always be enough for whatever comes our way.  His abundance showers over us, providing for us in times of distress.

The grace that saves us through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is the same grace that I can rely on for all life’s circumstances.  

How is God working in your life in these challenging days?  Do you rely on Him for your needs or are you forever striving to get ahead?  Are you at peace or are you agitated as you try to function through these abnormal days, seemingly with little support?

Take heart and hold onto the Lord and His promises.  He can work amazing things in your life.

His grace is sufficient for whatever comes.