God’s Grace Is Sufficient – 2 Corinthians 12
‘And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.’ — 2 Corinthians 12:9
The Corinthians failed to acknowledge the authority of the Apostle Paul in light of those who sought to undermine His message (v.11). So Paul was forced to defend himself and establish his own credentials, even though Paul admits that self-defense is by and large a foolish thing to do.
As Paul talked of his credentials and shared that he was caught up to heaven in a vision, he also revealed that God gave Him a thorn in the flesh to keep him humble amidst all these blessings (v.7). Three times, Paul prayed for this ‘thorn’ to be removed (v.8).
Instead of removing it, God promised that His grace would be sufficient to help him keep going despite his weakness. So, Paul learned to be glad and to rejoice in his infirmities, because then the power of Christ rested upon him.
This promise of God to Paul is one that we can claim as well. Just as the Lord sustained Paul, He will sustain us by His grace. Even if we have some terrible ‘thorn’ that causes us great pain and weakness, the Lord’s grace is enough to help us.
Whatever we are facing, whatever we are dealing with, however hard it may be, God’s grace is enough. He will help us, sustain us, and empower us. We can even get to the point where we actually are excited about weakness because that is when we are most likely to look to Christ and experience His power.