His Grace Should Be Sufficient For You

2 Corinthians 12:1-9

"It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord: I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago- whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows- how he was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man- whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows- how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Of such a one I will boast; yet of myself I will not boast, except in my infirmities. For though I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool for I will speak the truth. But I refrain lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me".

"And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness'."

Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake. For when I am weak then I am strong."

Paul is telling on himself. He is confessing his sin to us. Necessary, he says, so that we determine to avoid the same exercise of self-service. Paul as we know was an apostle. He has experienced and will experience (as will all spirit-filled, spirit-led christians) visions and revelations of the Lord. It seems Paul had grown boastful with those experiences, reporting his exaltation "above measure" or what it should have been in Jesus Christ. He goes now so far as to speak of his experiences as "a man he knows". No self-exaltation there. He had been corrected.

During his self-exaltation, a thorn in the flesh was given to him, a messenger of Satan. Whose desire is it that we be not exalted above measure? During the time when Paul was experiencing the thorn in the flesh, he pleaded with the Lord (as you would expect) so IT would depart from him. The Lord's response was "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness". What the Lord had given Paul should have been enough for him for He certainly ministers life. In Him is all the fullness of the Godhead. His strength cannot nor will be made perfect in the strength of you. As there is less of you there is more room for Him! The Lord knew that, in the trial, Paul would turn from his strength to the One who created all things, and would be made free from the bondage of his self-service!

Contentment rejoices in His sufficiency.

The Living Word

This past week I was driving into a local city to purchase a coffee and start my day. The drive from my home is about 25 minutes and usually quiet: meaning no radio or CD. I had arrived in town and was confessing scripture, specifically I Corinthians 13 which is the "love chapter". Christians know how important it is to love like God so His description of what love does is important if we are to walk hand in hand with the Godhead. When I confess scripture, I focus on the words spoken and the meaning, trying not to just say words but seek Him for what He knows we need to hear to be a doer, not just a hearer.

Moments later I turned into a single-laned alley to gain access to the coffee shop. As I approached the parking lot from the alley, another motorist pulled his vehicle into the alley and sat there, looking at me. My immediate response to his action was to proclaim his idiocy and wrangle my car out of his way. After, I heard these words, "hadn't you just finished confessing what the love of God does?" Needless to say, I was frustrated.

Later that morning, I heard in my spirit the Lord say, "My Word was never intended to be effective without the breath of the Holy Spirit empowering you to be a doer of it". I had confessed that portion of scripture many times and as recently as five minutes beforehand and the Words I had confessed fell flat to the ground, not able to empower me to overcome selfish behavior (mine and others). Jesus was able to navigate these types of situations without falling short of the grace of God. He also had the Holy Spirit without measure. He was One with the Father.

James 1:19 reads, "let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath". Hear what?  The anointing of the Holy Spirit coming within you to overcome. The anointing to be victors over all temptation comes from within. That is why we must be new creatures in Jesus Christ through the new birth and infilling of the Holy Spirit! But wait! I have been born again and filled with the Holy Spirit for twenty years. Why am I getting this just now? We are being built up a spiritual house.

It is not that the written Word (logos) is not life-giving. We need the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to do it like Jesus did!

So, we study the Word of God to SHOW OURSELVES approved. BUT, we direct our attention to our Father, thanking Him for who He is and what He has made available to us through Jesus Christ. We praise our Lord, Jesus Christ who was the Father's perfect emissary of willing obedience to Him for our sake. We press toward Him  (Them) so that we may be one with Them(John 17:21). Then we will hear Their Words, empowered BEFORE the temptation to sin arrives, and respond just as Jesus would/did!