His Grace is Enough for You
Introduction
I first met Nick Vujicic when he came to speak at Focus, our church holiday. Nick is a remarkable man. I think that all of us who met him were inspired and challenged by his life.
Nick was born without arms or legs, yet he can say, ‘I am truly blessed. I am ridiculously happy.’ Many times as a child he prayed for arms and legs. He would have settled for getting one arm or leg.
God did not answer his prayer in the way that he had hoped. Yet he writes, ‘God used me to reach people in countless schools, churches, prisons, orphanages, hospitals, stadiums and meeting halls. Even better, I’ve hugged thousands of people in face-to-face encounters that allow me to tell them how very precious they are... God took my unusual body and invested me with the ability to uplift hearts and encourage spirits.’
The people of God depend on the grace of God. Mother Teresa wrote, ‘I don’t think there is anyone who needs God’s help and grace as much as I do. Sometimes I feel so helpless and weak. I think that is why God uses me. Because I cannot depend on my own strength, I rely on Him twenty-four hours a day. If the day had even more hours, then I would need His help and grace during those as well.’
Paul expresses this dependence when he writes about the ‘thorn in his flesh’. Three times he pleaded with the Lord to take it away. But God said to him, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’ (2 Corinthians 12:9). His grace is not only amazing; it is ‘sufficient’. It is enough.
This is one of my favourite verses in the entire Bible. I often quote this verse to God and remind him of his promise that his power is made perfect in my weakness.
Psalm 106:43-48
43 Many times he delivered them,
but they were bent on rebellion
and they wasted away in their sin.
44 But he took note of their distress
when he heard their cry;
45 for their sake he remembered his covenant
and out of his great love he relented.
46 He caused all who held them captive
to show them mercy.
47 Save us, Lord our God,
and gather us from the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in your praise.
48 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
Praise the Lord.
Commentary
His grace comes from his great love
‘But’ is a key word in this passage.
The people were ‘bent on rebellion’ and ‘wasted away in their sin’ (v.43). ‘But,’ says the psalmist, ‘he took note of their distress when he heard their cry... out of his great love’ (vv.44–45).
The source of the sufficiency of God’s grace is ‘his great love’ (v.45). Because God loves his people so much, ‘many times he delivered them’ (v.43). He ‘heard their cry’ (v.44).
Some years ago, I wrote in the margin alongside this psalm summing up all the blessings the psalm speaks about. When I ‘disbelieve, grumble, disobey, worship the world’s idols, sin, do wrong – what does God do? He shows me favour, he comes to my aid, he gives me joy, he is kind, he saves me. He leads me, he redeems me, he answers my prayers, he delivers me, he notes my distress and hears my cry, he shows me his great love.’
No wonder the psalmist ends by saying, ‘Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord’ (v.48).
Prayer
2 Corinthians 12:1-10
12 I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3 And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4 was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. 5 I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. 6 Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, 7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 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. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Commentary
His grace is what you need
We think we will impress people with our strengths, but we connect with people through our vulnerabilities. Most of us want other people to see our strength and are nervous about anyone discovering our weaknesses. We do not advertise our limitations. However, Paul was not afraid of being vulnerable about his frailties.
Paul had some amazing spiritual experiences. He had ‘visions and revelations from the Lord’ (v.1). He had been ‘caught up to the third heaven’ (v.2). He had ‘heard inexpressible things, things that human beings are not permitted to tell’ (v.4). He had ‘surpassingly great revelations’ (v.7).
Yet Paul did not boast about these things. The false teachers in Corinth boasted about their spiritual experiences, but Paul did not. Rather, he told stories against himself. He boasted about his weaknesses (vv.5,9).
He told the Corinthians how God gave him ‘a thorn in \[his\] flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment \[him\]’ (v.7b). He made this confession in very general terms. Dr Paula Gooder, who wrote her PhD thesis on these verses, says that there are at least thirty-six theories about what the thorn in Paul’s flesh could be. The fact that we do not know what it is enables us all to identify with Paul.
I remember our good friend, the evangelist J. John, saying that he had not just one, but three thorns in the flesh! I don’t think he told us what they all were but it was encouraging for the rest of us to know that, like all of us, he had his struggles.
Whatever Paul’s thorn was, three times he pleaded with the Lord to take it away. But God said to him, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’ (v.9). Were it not for the thorn in his flesh, Paul might have become conceited because of the ‘surpassingly great revelations’ (v.7).
As it was, Paul knew he was totally dependent on the Lord. When things are going well, I am tempted to be proud and self-reliant. When I am struggling and know my weaknesses, I become utterly dependent on the Lord. Christ’s power rests on us (v.9). His power is made perfect in our weakness.
Paul has written something absolutely remarkable. He says, ‘It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size – abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become’ (vv.7–10, MSG).
Prayer
Isaiah 27:2-6, 28:16
2 In that day –
‘Sing about a fruitful vineyard:
3 I, the Lord, watch over it;
I water it continually.
I guard it day and night
so that no one may harm it.
4 I am not angry.
If only there were briers and thorns confronting me!
I would march against them in battle;
I would set them all on fire.
5 Or else let them come to me for refuge;
let them make peace with me,
yes, let them make peace with me.’
6 In days to come Jacob will take root,
Israel will bud and blossom
and fill all the world with fruit.
28
16 So this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
the one who relies on it
will never be stricken with panic.’
Commentary
His grace comes through Jesus
God loves you. He speaks of his people being like a vine. God tends it, waters it, watches over it and cares for it (27:3–4, MSG).
God in his love, judges. He pulls out the thistles and thorn bushes and burns them up (v.4, MSG). There is much here about God’s judgment. Yet this is described as ‘his strange work’ (28:21). Martin Luther, the great reformer, made the point that while judgment is Christ’s ‘strange work’, salvation is his ‘proper work’.
Isaiah continues to announce judgment on those whose attitude is the very opposite of the apostle Paul. Paul had reason enough for his pride (his ‘surpassingly great revelations’, 2 Corinthians 12:7) but he was, in fact, humble. Ephraim was proud whereas it had no reason for pride.
Isaiah speaks of ‘the pride of Ephraim’s drunkards… the pride of those laid low by wine!’ (Isaiah 28:1). Although the Bible tells us that God gives wine to gladden our hearts (Psalm 104:15), it warns of the dangers of excess.
‘The pretentious drunks… besotted with wine and whiskey, can’t see straight, can’t talk sense. Every table is covered with vomit. They live in vomit’ (Isaiah 28:1,7–8, MSG). He also speaks against the ‘scoffers’ (v.14, MSG) – in other words the sceptics and cynics.
In the middle of these prophecies of judgment, Isaiah foresees the one who will be the cornerstone of grace: ‘Watch closely. I’m laying a foundation in Zion, a solid granite foundation, squared and true. And this is the meaning of the stone: A TRUSTING LIFE WON’T TOPPLE’ (v.16, MSG).
Jesus is the cornerstone. He is the ‘solid granite foundation’ (v.16, MSG). The apostles Paul (Romans 9:33) and Peter (1 Peter 2:4–6) see these verses as referring to Jesus. He is the one on whom the church of living stones is built. He is the one chosen by God but rejected by human beings. Whoever turns to Jesus will never be put to shame (1 Peter 2:4–6). ‘He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree… by his wounds you have been healed’ (1 Peter 2:24).
Jesus is your sure foundation. The one who trusts in him will never be stricken with panic (Isaiah 28:16). This doesn’t mean that you and I will never experience fear, worry or even panic attacks, but it is a reminder, when we are tempted to fear, that Jesus, your sure foundation, is the source of all grace and strength – the one who died so that you can be forgiven and experience his great love, grace and power for you. Whatever weaknesses and difficulties you may be struggling with today, his grace is enough for you.
Prayer
Pippa adds
2 Corinthians 12:9 says:
‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’
This is another of my favourite verses. It is one I have hung on to time and time again when I have not known quite how I was going to get through a situation. God has been gracious and helped me and I have known his mighty power helping me in my life.
Verse of the Day
2 Corinthians 12:9a
The Lord said... ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’
Thought for the Day
‘I don’t think there is anyone who needs God’s help and grace as much as I do. Sometimes I feel so helpless and weak. I think that is why God uses me.’ – Mother Teresa
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References
Mother Teresa quoted in The Power of Prayer (MJF Books, 1998) p.3, taken from United States Catholic Catechism for Adults (USCCB, 2006) p.479–80
Nick Vujicic, Life Without Limits (Waterbrook, 2012) p.viii, 21.
Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised, Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.
Scripture quotations marked (AMP) taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)
Scripture marked (MSG) taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.