Saturday, July 25, 2009
2 Corinthians 12:9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."
GOD'S GRACE SUFFICIENT
Instead of complaining when trouble befalls us, perhaps we should remember what the Lord said to Paul when he asked that his "thorn in the flesh" be removed:
The LORD said, "No, I won't take this from you, because my grace is all you need to handle it. I won't take it from you because only after you have seen your inability, are you are ready to be an instrument of my power." The same LORD has promised you that He will enable you to stand if you will only rely upon Him and not on your own strength and power!
The LORD told Paul, "My grace is all you need." God's grace is His undeserved love in Christ. God's grace, the depth of that love is fully realized and appreciated when people see their sinfulness. Perhaps when we suffer in this life, we should remember:
God could have condemned us. God could have given us what we deserved and simply cast us away into an eternity of suffering in hell.
God could have resolved to punish us every day for our every sin of thought, word and deed. He could have, but He didn't. God chose to punish His Son and thus have mercy on us.
God's grace, His undeserved love for us in Christ will never abandon us. He will not change his mind or his covenant. God's love for us in Christ is mightier than every trouble and can support us in every ordeal.
In order that we may see and appreciate His grace, God uses His Law to lead us to despair of our own strength and power to please God. He shows us that there is nothing good in us by nature and that we have earned eternal death. Then to those with broken and contrite hearts He comes on His mission of mercy.
He sends His Spirit to reveal that He has delivered us by His power and through the righteous life of His Son. He promises all those who trust in Him that they are safe and that no one can pluck them out of His Hand.
