Lena
Grace
for Glory
Today's Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:9
"My grace is sufficient for you."
Read it online at the Bible Gateway: (NIV) (NASB) (KJV) (The Message)
"My grace is sufficient for you."
Read it online at the Bible Gateway: (NIV) (NASB) (KJV) (The Message)
God's
grace is not given to make us feel better but to glorify him. Modern society's
subtle, underlying agenda is good feelings. We want the pain to go away. We want
to feel better in difficult situations. But God wants us to glorify him in those
circumstances. Good feelings may or may not come, but that's not the issue. The
issue is whether we honor God by the way we respond to our circumstances. God's
grace—the enabling power of the Holy Spirit—is given to help us respond in such
a way.
God's
grace is sufficient. The Greek verb for is sufficient in 2 Corinthians 12:9 is
translated "will be content" in 1 Timothy 6:8: "If we have food and clothing,
with these we will be content" (NIV). This helps us understand what sufficient
means. Food and clothing refer to life's necessities, not luxuries. If we have
the necessities, we're to be content, realizing they're sufficient.
So
it is with God's grace in the spiritual realm. God always gives us what we need,
perhaps sometimes more, but never less. The spiritual equivalent of food and
clothing is simply the strength to endure in a way that honors God. Receiving
that strength, we're to be content. We would like the "luxury" of having our
particular thorn removed, but God often says, "Be content with the strength to
endure that thorn." We can be confident he always gives that.
John
Blanchard said, "so he [God] supplies perfectly measured grace to meet the needs
of the godly. For daily needs there is daily grace; for sudden needs, sudden
grace; for overwhelming need, overwhelming grace. God's grace is given
wonderfully, but not wastefully; freely but not foolishly; bountifully but not
blindly." - Jerry Bridges
