The sufficiency of God’s grace.
Isn’t it easy to praise God for all He does when times are good and then struggle when times are hard?
I guess that was very much Paul’s experience when he pleaded with the Lord three times to remove the “thorn” from his side (we have no idea what that ‘thorn’ was other than that it was clearly something that Paul would much rather not have had!).
Three times he pleaded with the Lord – three periods of intense pleading with God that God should remove it. It was clearly something unpleasant, clearly something that Paul attributed to the work of Satan for he calls it “a messenger of Satan”. Clearly something that Paul felt was a hindrance to his work, ministry and something that dampened his delighting in God. But then God spoke to him…
2Co 12:9 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2Co 12:10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
And God’s point was simple: Paul, don’t you realise who is sovereign in everything? Yes I could remove it, but no I’m not going to, for this reason: the weaker you are in yourself, the more you will lean on me, the more you lean on me, the more I can work in you and through you and therefore the stronger you will be! And God gave him this one great assurance “My grace is sufficient for you”.
And that friend is what we really need to know and to treasure in these times isn’t it? They may not be what we want (I’m sure they’re not), we may be pleading with God to remove them (I hope we are), and yes God is sovereign over them, and yes He can remove them, and by His grace in due time no doubt He will, but until then this is where you and I as His children stand in respect to Him “His grace is sufficient for you”.
Friend, have you yet discovered the wonder of this paradox: as a Christian the more you lean on God because of your personal weakness, the more Christ works in you and so the stronger you actually are?
Praise God for the sufficiency of His grace every day to meet every challenge you face and every true need that you have.