Grace!

Grace!

2 Corinthians 12:9 KJV

[9] And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

As I read the verse above, I am reminded of the account that came before it. Here was a man who had persecuted the church of God, and was zealous for the culture he grew up in. He did not know any better, but when he had an encounter with Jesus, his life turned around and he became an evangelist, taking the good news about Jesus to the world he knew at the time. So many towns we read about today were places where the gospel of Jesus was preached. My past looks nothing like my present, only if I hand over my life to the control and influence of the One who made me. I do not know the full expression of what my life can produce or achieve; it is only by full surrender that i can even begin to scratch the surface of what I can become. This was Paul, a persecutor and prosecutor of the Christian faith, and who then became the proclaimer and proponent of the same faith. There is no life so far gone that s/he is beyond the redemptive grace of God. 

Paul would later submit his life totally to God. There were things he did that could not have been done by labour, strength or intellect of his own. He never married, at least by what was recorded of him, but by God's inspiration and direction, he became the channel of divine instructions on marriage. There are lessons from his life that even the changing of generations and dispensations has not been able to change or reduce its impact. In that walk with God, Paul came across several revelations and mysteries that he was not permitted to speak about at the time. God, who is wise beyond all limits, and fully knowing and understanding the dangers of some deep spiritual things, gave Paul a thorn in his flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment Paul. Think of this: a man, used mightily of God in his generation, was subject to such an experience. Before you go all out pointing the finger at someone else's experience, be sure you do not have their own encounters. 

Paul went to God three times, asking that the thorn in his flesh be taken away, but the response from God is the verse above. There is grace that is sufficient for any situation that may come on any man. God would not take a man down a path where His grace will not be with that man. God's grace is ALWAYS enough for whatever problem a man may face. God's strength is best seen in the times when a man is at his weakest. Man will always be weak outside of God; God's strength shows up best when a man can fully depend on God. Never let your achievements get into your head, leading you to think that you can make it on your own. God supplied the grace that Paul needed, and Paul embraced and maximised the grace to do exploits for God. Like Paul, can I boast in God's empowerment, knowing that He is all I need? The more of Him I get, the more of Him I resemble. The more I look like Him; the more people are attracted to His light in me. I glory in God alone; He is all I need. God's time of favour is here.