Today’s Encouragement is 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 NLT “Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. [9] Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.”
All you need –
Paul wrote about a tormenting problem he had, [v7] “even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So, to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.”
We tend to think of the early disciples of Jesus as great men of the faith, which they were, but as if they were above the sins and troubles of life which we also encounter regularly! Here Paul destroys that fallacy! He clearly confesses that the enemy of our souls, Satan, tormented him. Torment is a strong word! He could have minimized it, just said, ‘I occasionally was annoyed by an evil spirit.’ But he carefully chose words which clearly described the immense struggle he had with this ‘thorn in his flesh’.
My friends, be encouraged! We also will have such struggles, such torment!
And God’s response may be complete deliverance, or … because God is Sovereign, and He knows exactly what is best for each of us, He says to us as He did to Paul, “My Grace is all you need!”
“But Lord!”, we cry out, “I need healing, deliverance, freedom from this torment!” And He simply responds, “My Grace is all you need.”
Father, help us to understand that Your Grace, mercy, forgiveness, Your undeserved kindness and favor for us… really is all we need.
Your Grace is Enough
Matt Maher
Today’s Encouragement 