SUFFICIENT GRACE

After the Apostle Paul pleaded with God to take away his thorn, God responded, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).

What was Paul's thorn? We don't know. Whatever it was, it really doesn't matter, but what matters is this: This was no minor irritation. Paul's thorn in the flesh was a torment day-in and day-out. He was in severe pain.

In 2 Corinthians 14, the Apostle Paul talks about the horrendous things that were happening to him--he was shipwrecked, stoned almost to death, lashed thirty-nine times, beaten, put in prison, he went hungry and thirsty--an yet through all of this he never prayed to God and said, "God, take these things away from me." Not once do we see him praying that these things would go away. Meanwhile, he persists in prayer over this thorn, whatever it was.

It is no accident that the Bible did not tell us what his specific problem was. The Holy Spirit left this out deliberately so that all who go through suffering could identify with Paul. This godly man quietly asked the Lord to intervene and deliver him quickly, just like we often do--and there is nothing wrong with that request. however, God's response was, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

There is one thing you must understand about grace. Grace equals power. There is nothing like this power in the entire world. this power is so unique that it can raise a dead soul to life. It is a supernatural power. it's a unique power. And it is that same power that sustains us through the difficulties of life.

No matter what your hurt may be, whatever your suffering is, whatever grief is crushing you, God's promise for the Apostle Paul is yours today: "My grace is sufficient for you." no matter what you are facing, God's grace is sufficient.

How could we experience and explain the sufficiency of the grace of God if there were no thorns in our lives? How could we experience the daily grace of God without the thorns of life? How could we testify about it? God's grace cannot be manifested when we are strong in our own eyes. God's grace cannot be manifested when we think we don't need it.

God's grace shines the brightest against the darkness of our circumstances. God's grave is manifested most clearly when we are weak. That is why Paul became happy to boast about his weakness. Why? So that Christ's power would rest upon him even more.

"My grace is sufficient for you." Is God's grace sufficient for you? If you don't think that God's grace is sufficient for you, maybe you are focusing so much on the thorn that you cannot see the rose of His grace blossoming in your life. is that a possibility? Let your prayer be: "Lord, help me to take my eyes off the thorn. May my gaze instead fixed upon Your throne."

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 Christi's power may rest on me. - 2 Corinthians 12:9

Copied from My Journal, The Awesomeness of God's Grace by Dr. Micheal Yousslf