His Grace is Enough

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.

2 Corinthians 12:9

It is often far easier to take an inventory of the reasons not to do something, than to find the reason to do it. It is so easy to see our limitations, our difficulties and our challenges as evidence that the Lord can't do anything with us. As we count up all of the reasons "why not" we fall into one of the subtlest traps our three-fold enemy sets out for us: self-centeredness. If our eyes are found looking to ourselves, even to take account of our inability, our eyes are ultimately fixed upon us and our inability and not our Lord, who IS ABLE!

What would the Lord do through you this week? Who would you share the gospel with? Who would you call to comfort or encourage? What would you take part in if failure were not possible? If you know that you could never do this on your own, you are in just the right place to start! Paul penned these words only one chapter after listing off all of his qualifications, he defended himself for the sake of his message that was given to Him directly from the resurrected Christ. But before anyone could wonder if Paul was used of God because of his great qualifications, he gives them a clear illustration of the reality: God uses us in and through our weakness. If we think we can serve from our own strength, our own strength we will waste. The Lord is interested in working through those who know best that is it He and He alone who is doing the work.

Jesus is your...

I have a Bible promise book that I treasure. Of course there are countless little volumes like this that aspire to give the reader a quick "at a glance" view of some applicable verses in any given situation. I have several volumes like this that I have received or collected over the years, but this one especially I appreciate. Most of the promise books I have seen jump right into the situations, verse prescriptions for every problem presented in a: "take two of these and call me in the morning" fashion. This promise book (God's Promises for Your Every Need, Word Publishing) starts with 16 chapters entitled "Jesus is your..." These are the 16 chapters that contain only Bible verses filled with Christ's character and care for us, along with a few of the verses referenced in each section:

Savior

Titus 3:5-6; 1 John 4:14; Ephesians 2:4-5

Lord

Philippians 2:9-11; Romans 12:1-2; Romans 14:8

Love

Romans 5:8; John 3:16; 1 John 4:7-12

Peace

Isaiah 26:3; Ephesians 2:13-14; Romans 5:1; John 14:27

Forgiveness

Ephesians 1:6-7; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Psalm 103:12; 1 John 1:9; 1 John 2:1

Righteousness

2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Philippians 3:9

Deliverer

Isaiah 61:1; John 8:32, 36; Romans 8:2; Romans 6:22

Fellowship

1 John 1:3; 1 Corinthians 1:9; Revelation 3:20

Example

1 Peter 2:21, 1 John 2:6; Ephesians 5:1-2

Companion

John 15:15-16; 1 John 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:9

Brother

Matthew 12:50; Hebrews 2:11; Romans 8:29

Guardian

Psalm 3:3; 2 Thess. 3:3; 1 Peter 3:12-13

Security

1 Peter 1:3-5; John 10:27-29; Romans 8:38-39

Sufficiency

2 Corinthians 9:8; Philippians 4:19; 2 Corinthians 3:5

Fulfillment

John 6:35; John 4:13-14; Romans 8:32

Everything

Romans 8:37; Ephesians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 1:21

This is only a small sampling of the verses. After reading these chapters (the first 50 or so pages of this little volume) I wondered what the need for the rest of the book could possibly be? Jesus Christ IS the answer. If I am struggling in life it is because I have taken my eyes off of Him. If I remain Christ centered there is nothing that I cannot endure. If I can be convinced to become self centered I am destined for a tumble. I would encourage you this week to roll these terms around in your mind. Look up the verses. Notice these statements are sure, not contingent. "Jesus IS your..." not "could be", "might be" or "will be". This is His grace gift to you as part and parcel to the Saving relationship that you entered into with Him when you placed faith in Christ for Salvation. Roll over these qualities and trust Christ to be all of these things to you, as you are in Him.

I never was terribly handy. In our first home I had to adhere one piece of wood to another. Having no drill I had to drive the screws in by hand. It took a great deal of time and sweat to get the screws in place. The saddest part of the story is that very soon after the job had to be redone...with a powerdrill. How often do we sweat, work, and exert ourselves to get some thing done while Jesus stands over us saying, "You know I am going to have to undo all that you are doing before I can fix it." Even our best intentions result only in loss. We need Jesus.