ICS Daily Devotions
His Grace Is Sufficient for Us
Life can be very pressurizing and when you are under the weight of it, you may think that you are all alone. Rest assured that you are not alone and that God wants us to be on top and not below, the head and not the tail.
Luke 6:46-49 (NJKV) “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say?” Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: “He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. “But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”
As long as we are in the world, we will encounter life’s storms in the form of trials and tribulations. Contributing to these life’s storms are ourselves and the people we come in contact with. But if we act upon the sure foundation of the Word of God, we will not fall.
In 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, the Apostle Paul recounted his wide range of trials and tribulations for the sake of the Gospel. They included:
1) Laboring tirelessly for God and often a thankless job.
2) Being whipped 5 times, each 39 stripes.
3) Being imprisoned for his faith.
4) Facing death often.
5) Being beaten with rod.
6) Being stoned
7) Being shipwrecked 3 times including a night and a day in the deep.
8) dangers in the form of shipwrecked, robbers, wilderness.
9) Suffering hunger, thirst, cold and nakedness
10) Being betrayed by his own countryman and false brothers.
Paul revealed that there was a messenger of Satan that was a “thorn in the flesh” to his ministry. When Paul asked for deliverance, Jesus said His grace was sufficient for Paul.
2 Corinthians 12:7-9 (NKJV) “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.”
Notice that in this administering of grace by God, God did not remove the thorn but the grace of God actually strengthened Paul. Many of us hope that the “thorn” will disappear from our lives, but God often does not make the problem disappear. Instead, He gives us grace to strengthen us and to see us through.
Sermon Series: Grace for Life
