“HIS GRACE IS ENOUGH”

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

2 Corinthians 12:9a

If you've been a Christian long enough, chances are, you have experienced having "no" for an answer to a prayer. Such a thing can cause you to be discouraged, but how can you overcome disappointment?

In our previous blog, we learned that sanctification includes seasons of pruning, teaching, disciplining, and correcting from the Lord.

Here's another spiritual nugget telling you God stays faithful even when you don't think so:

God’s grace is enough for you.

In the passage from where tonight's verse is taken, Paul is given an amazing experience. He was sent into the heavens where he received a great revelation from God—a revelation so great that could’ve caused him to be conceited. But to keep him from being proud, God gave him a thorn in the flesh. The Lord refused to take the pain away despite Paul praying for it multiple times. Instead, God told Paul that His grace was more than enough and that His power is made perfect in Paul’s weakness.

Think about that for a moment: an accomplished Apostle like Paul who endured great sufferings for Christ, prayed to be delivered from this thorn in the flesh only to be rejected again and again. But instead of taking it away, God gave Paul a greater blessing: the grace to carry it. Paul asked for power and make him a better Gospel communicator, but God essentially said, “I’m already working in you through your weakness. You don’t need deliverance; what you need is my grace.”

In the same way, God says the same thing to those who are suffering for His Name’s sake. He does not eliminate our trials but assures us that He is with us in the thick of the battle. Indeed, His grace is more than enough.

That’s why there’s no such thing as an I-can-do-it-all Christian. No matter how good we think we are, there's always the possibility of facing a challenge too great for us to handle alone. We need to understand that God never created us to live this life and overcome trials on our own. Truth be told, we cannot achieve anything eternally significant apart from God’s grace.

So when we feel frustrated and defeated, we shouldn’t give up. Instead, we should allow our limitations to reveal our inability to save ourselves and ask for God’s help. These trials should draw us closer to Christ, who gives us strength to endure every hardship. God wants us to depend on Him, and the best part: He delights in helping us.

Again, we cannot do everything. And as a matter of fact, that’s a good thing! Because if we could, why then would we need God, to begin with? Not being able to do it all means we need to rely on God and receive His grace every day.

Pursue the Savior today!