God's Grace Is Sufficient For...

This blog is based on the following Bible reading plan passages: 2 Cor 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, Prov 14 & Ps 69-70) 

God’s Grace is sufficient for … 

The Apostle Paul is like a magnet for trouble. It’s as if he has a large target on his back and there are plenty of willing archers taking aim.  Wherever he goes he sticks to his God-given mission of preaching the gospel of Christ to both Jew and Gentile and he faces much opposition. Indeed, in Corinth it looks like the church has plenty of willing archers too. 

This letter to Corinth contains the harsh realities of Paul’s ministry and how he learned to fight the good fight of faith.  His secret can be discovered in looking ahead to chapter 12 where the Lord answers Paul’s heart cry with “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  After Paul’s ‘on the road to Damascus’ experience, he knew full well that this new life in Christ had nothing to do with that old Saul life!     

Amidst the extreme ‘despairing of life itself’ challenges that Paul faces, he is able to declare that the word of God is sure and certain, that every promise God has made is ‘Yes’ to us who are in Christ.  Our part is to believe & declare ‘Amen’… let it be so Lord!   

This caused me to think of Zechariah and Mary in Luke 1, each of whom received an incredible, truly super-natural, word of God from an angel. Zechariah chose to focus on the weakness of his body, Mary was in awe of God’s word for what is impossible with man alone is made possible by the power of God.   

When we are faced with a word from God, we can choose to either be like Zechariah scoffing at the word or we can be like Mary saying ‘May it be to me as you have said’ or ‘Amen’.  Either way God’s Word is fulfilled, the difference being we either allow doubt to rob us of the Lord’s joy or we enter into the joy of Lord as we embrace His word, just look at Mary’s song in Luke!  Not a peep out of Zechariah! 

Let’s be the ones who choose to believe and be filled with overflowing joy! 

In this letter, Paul clearly delights in the treasure of the new life he now has in Christ, the life that God has placed in him and others as they too receive the gospel of Jesus.  Indeed, the same God who made the light to shine in the darkness in Genesis and on the way to Damascus is the same God who has made His light shine in our hearts says Paul.  He has clearly seen this in the Corinthian church whom he calls living letters from Christ, letters that speak of the gospel of Christ, letters written not by ink but by the Spirit of the living God.  Letters that show Paul played his part with the Lord in getting this new life to them. 

Do you know that when you were made alive with Christ, you became a living letter? 

You were even stamped with the seal of His Holy Spirit.  And He has sent you to the people where you live and work. Your life is now illuminated from the inside out with the light of Christ’s love and compassion.  As we live this new life, we have the power to go through whatever challenges may come our way, for every promise of God that was true for Jesus and true for Paul is true for you and me today. 

Remember the words of the angel to Zechariah in Luke 1 ‘I stand in the presence of God and have been sent to speak to you to tell you this good news.’  God’s Word, His promises are not merely words on a page but have been spoken by Almighty God from the very throne-room of God, the seat of all power in the universe.   

God, who is a Spirit, is speaking His living word to our spirits today. Can you hear  

‘My grace is sufficient for you’ … Yes! He really does mean you who are reading this. 

Are you ready with your ‘Amen’….’Let it be to me as you say Lord!’