Many have identified with the apostle, Paul, when he sought God in a difficult situation requesting Him to remove what he referred to as “a thorn in his flesh”, (2 Corinthians 12: 7-10). The Lord refused his request declaring:”My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness”. Paul surrendered to the Lord and responded: “Most gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me”.
Struggling with a difficult situation, Paul proved God and found the sufficiency of God’s grace in his weakness, the enabling power of God to sustain him. This is resurrection ground!
As God declares there is a sufficiency of His grace for every situation that befalls me, (My grace is sufficient for you”), what do I do when I find myself lacking in grace in insufficiency, scratching around for grace? If I need more grace, I must first embrace more truth. Scripture declares: “……grace and truth came by Jesus Christ”, John 1:17. God has married together grace and truth. Truth without grace can be harsh. Grace balances truth in love. As I confess my lack in my own strength, embracing the truth of where I am before the Lord, God turns His tap of grace on. As I receive and operate in His grace, I discover the power of Christ’s enabling grace and power, all glory to the Father. This is the royal exchange offered to me in my birthright in Jesus, His strength in my weakness, His beauty for my ashes, (Isaiah 61:3). As the Holy Spirit guides and teaches us God’s ways, we also, can arrive at the place Paul found in Christ and was able to declare: “Most gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest on me”, (2 Corinthians 12: 9).
Earlier on in the book of 2 Corinthians 1, Paul recalls how he was pressed out of measure in a situation, insomuch that he despaired even of life! (verse 8) Paul proved God here and realised the purpose of the trial, not to trust in himself but to trust in God, the treasure of the trial revealed, and God manifest.
I may often find myself pressed out of measure on my journey with the Lord. Here I discover I am no further on in God than where I am at my lowest point. When I am pressed out of measure in a situation, I need to view it through God’s perspective. It is a learning curve where God desires to take me on to another measure of the fullness of His Son. As I embrace my lack, in truth with Him, the enabling power of Christ can flow freely through me, all glory to God. “He must increase, I must decrease”, John 3:30.
Jesus Christ walked this earth as the Son of Man. He became flesh and blood, just like you and I, but He is our Pattern Man. He is the only one who ever walked in ALL the fullness of God. He did not walk in measure. In Ephesians, Paul prayed that we would be filled with “all the fullness of God”. This is an incremental work, line upon line. It is not some rare, to be hoped for experience. It is offered to us as our birthright in Christ! Jesus’ finished work at Calvary made it possible for us! Only when we hang on to the right to ourselves, the flesh life, do we prevent the fullness of Christ operating in our lives. Humility is always key.
Jesus is the answer to my every need. All the fullness of God is embodied in Him. Whatever my lack is, He is the all sufficient One who meets me there, and is to me what I am not. The challenge to each of us: Where am I not in sufficient truth, to enjoy sufficient grace? This affects every aspect in life: relationships, home, work, school, physical, worries for present and future.
Corrie Ten Boom said, “Worrying does not empty tomorrow of it’s cares, but it robs today of it’s strength”. Jesus taught us to be anxious for nothing. We can only do this as we surrender our cares to the Lord, and exchange our anxiety for a deep trust in Him to take care of the things we are powerless to change.
We are all still operating in measure, all at different stages of our journey. None of us claim to have arrived, but as children of the Living God, we need to find out where our believing has to change in order to press forward. We are today, the full expression of what we are believing. If we, if I, believe God’s grace is sufficient, then as I embrace truth I will walk in the sufficiency of His grace. Here I discover afresh the fullness of His joy in His presence for my journey.
Psalm 16:11 “You will show me the path of life, in Your presence is fullness of joy, and at Your right hand there are pleasures for evermore”.
The full expression of our heavenly Father’s path of life is found in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Photo by Torsten Dederichs on Unsplash
