WHEN GOD SAYS NO

“But [the Lord] 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.”  (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV)

There are times when the one thing you want is the one thing you never get…

All you want is an open door or an extra day or an answered prayer, for which you will be thankful. And so you pray and wait. No answer. You pray and wait. No answer. You pray and wait.

May I ask a very important question? What if God says no?

What if the request is delayed or even denied? When God says no to you, how will you respond? If God says, “I’ve given you My grace, and that is enough,” will you be content?

Content. That’s the word. A state of heart in which you would be at peace if God gave you nothing more than He already has. Test yourself with this question: What if God’s only gift to you were His grace to save you? Would you be content?

What if His answer is, “My grace is sufficient,” would you be content?

You see, from heaven’s perspective, grace is enough. 

-- Max Lucado in “In the Grip of Grace”

#6445

ALL-SUFFICIENT GRACE

And the Lord said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”  (2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV)

There is power in the grace of God. The verb translated “is sufficient” is in the present tense – as is God’s grace, which is always present. In every situation, we can rely on Him to provide strength and courage. He will never give us all that we want, but He will give us all that we need.

Compare our Lord to the gods of all the world’s religions and you’ll find that grace is the difference maker. It is the X factor that radically sets Him apart. Our God is “the God of all grace” (1 Peter 5:10). He is kind, benevolent, and long-suffering. We need not beg Him, bribe Him, or appease Him. He actually longs to bless us every single moment, every single day. He comes down to us rather than demanding that we climb the impossible ladder to infinity to reach Him. Grace is God taking the initiative.

In this same letter, Paul explained, “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8 NKJV).

Notice the repetition of the word “all.” All grace abounds toward us so that we are all sufficient in all things. He is all we need in all we face, so that for all we do, we can overflow with His grace and power. 

-- David Jeremiah in “Keep the Faith: How to Stand Strong in a World Turned Upside Down” 

#5970

GOD’S SUFFICIENT LOVE

“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Romans 5:8)

Any time that we are tempted to doubt God’s love for us, we should go back to the Cross. We should reason somewhat in this fashion: If God loved me enough to give His Son to die for me when I was His enemy, surely He loves me enough to care for me now that I am His child. Having loved me to the ultimate extent of the Cross, He cannot possibly fail to love me in times of adversity. Having given such a priceless gift as His Son, surely He will also give all else that is consistent with His glory and my good…

“He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) Paul reasoned that if God loved us so much to give us the greatest conceivable gift, then surely He will not withhold any lesser blessing from us… If God’s love was sufficient for my greatest need, my eternal salvation, surely it is sufficient for my lesser needs, the adversities I encounter in this life. 

-- Jerry Bridges in “Trusting God”

#5199

SUSTAINING GRACE

“My grace is sufficient for you.”  (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Grace takes on an added dimension here. Paul is referring to sustaining grace. Saving grace saves us from our sins. Sustaining grace meets us at our point of need and equips us with courage, wisdom, and strength. It surprises us in the middle of our personal crisis with ample resources of faith. Sustaining grace promises not the absence of struggle but the presence of God.

God has sufficient, sustaining grace to meet every single challenge of our lives. Sufficient.

-- Max Lucado in “Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine”



#4780

OUR SUFFICIENCY IS IN CHRIST

“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God.”  (2 Corinthians 3:5 NKJV)

“Thank You, Lord. You are my sufficiency this moment, this hour, this day. I‘m counting on Your life in me -- Your love and patience, Your gentleness and guidance and power -- to meet my needs and overflow to others.”

When we praise with thanksgiving, we deepen our experience of Christ in us as our Source. He constantly fills us and replenishes our resources as we give ourselves in loving service to other people.

C. S. Lewis wrote that a car [built with an internal combustion engine] is made to run on gas, and it won’t run properly on anything else. Likewise, God made us to run on Himself. He is the fuel our spirits were designed to feed on. So it’s no use trying to find inner release and power and fulfillment apart from God. There is no such thing. And God has given us His life and power through our inner union with Christ Jesus our Lord.

When we turn our attention to Christ, focusing on Him and His sufficiency, how can we help but praise and thank Him for He is our life?

-- Ruth Myers in “31 Days of Praise”


#4724