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
Simply put, it has been a challenging week – one of those weeks that seems to bear far more difficulty, uncertainty, and grief than you believe you can carry. I know you’ve been there. We all have. Life doesn’t tend to warn us of the storms that will inevitably come, and what I’ve learned is that if I’m not deeply rooted in the truth of God’s Word, I will easily be blown and tossed by the waves. Trials seem to enter my life in the form of a tidal wave at times, and if I’m not careful and intentional to stand firm upon truth, I’m simply no match for the storm.
Several years ago, God spoke the truth of His sufficient grace over my life, or what was left of it. Due to circumstances that were outside of my control coupled with poor choices on my own part, what remained of my heart was not much more than a pile of brokenness, a heap of ashes. Smoldering from the fire, Jesus reached down with His healing hand and began to piece back together what had been shattered. And as He mended what had been broken, I experienced His sufficient grace.
Sufficient: adequate for the intended purpose; enough
Grace: the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God
Choosing to call to mind His faithfulness towards me in my past was the obedience necessary for me these past several days to offer hope in the face of temptation to despair. One of the many lies that have deceived so many of us is that Christ is just not enough. From the pits of our pain, we cry out, “This pain is too great. This difficulty beyond the hope of repair. This relationship past the point of reconciliation. This despair too dark”…to which God would speak a greater, more powerful word of truth:
“My grace is enough.”
In the face of unimaginable shame, grief, sorrow, despair, hopelessness, hurt, anger, and fear, we are met with the promise of His sufficient grace. The extent to which we focus on something determines its size in our minds. So we have a choice. We either focus on our circumstance, that more often than not we have little power over to change, or we focus on the beautiful face of Jesus. The more we focus on our problem, the bigger it becomes and the smaller Jesus seems in our minds. The more we fix our gaze on our Savior, the smaller our obstacle becomes.
I know I needed this reminder today. The God of all comfort, love, mercy, and truth meets you and I each and every day with His sufficient (enough) grace (favor). Enough favor. I pray that you and I can find rest for our souls in that reality today. I pray that we might find the courage, strength, and resolve to proclaim today, “Jesus, you are more than enough.” And as those beautiful words of truth pass over our lips, may they bring healing to our souls.
Jesus, you are all that I need. I run to you.
Amen. Sometimes difficult circumstances can overwhelm me and I tend to lose my focus which makes my problems bigger than Jesus….but then I remind myself that His grace IS sufficient for me and He IS more than enough….Love you!
A very good, and much needed word, Cherie! When the storms of life hit, we seem to either forget about Who Jesus is or we put Him in a small box! It must sadden and anger our Mighty Saviour, who conquered the grave for us, to see us struggle rather than look to Him for refuge.
I so, so needed to hear this today Cherie! Thanks! Been sinking down in the pit of sadness because of the loss of my Dad. I needed to see his beautiful face and know that His Grace is sufficient to get me through this! I have a choice, I choose grace!
Catching up on the blog dear friend and am so encouraged by this word of truth! Sufficient grace, letting Jesus be the focus and not our problems! Amen! Thank you for the reminder!