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Just Grace - Week 35
“But he 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
I think I've mentioned a few weeks ago that I'm doing a word study on 6 words that will be in preparation for the first meeting with my cancer support group. Last word I studied was "healing". Healing was a difficult word to reflect upon knowing that many in our group are currently in treatment after several years of being in and out of treatment. I was left with the question of why does God completely heal some people and not others? My answer: I didn't know nor could I explain why. This week's word study was on "Grace".
In the above passage we see that Paul had a thorn that he asked the Lord to remove but the Lord’s answer to his prayer was not the way he had hopped for. “In effect, God said to Paul, ‘I will not remove the thorn, but I will do something better. I will give you grace to bear it. And just remember, Paul, that although I have not given you what you asked for, yet I am giving you what you need most deeply. You want my power and strength to accompany your preaching, don’t you? Well, the best way to have that happen is for you to be kept in a place of weakness.” (Bible Commentary)
In a nutshell God is saying that sometimes having Him by our side and the assurance of His strength and grace is better than removing us from our trials, sufferings and thorns.
WHAT? Does He really mean that? I think He does and here is why . . .
Human weakness will provide the ideal opportunity for displaying God’s divine power. Not only that but when we know God as our Savior we also know that His Grace IS already sufficient. It is not something we have to ask or work for because it has already been given.
How do we know this to be true? Because, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).
The "Word" in this verse is referring to Jesus Christ the Son of God. Jesus came to earth to experience the life of man. He became flesh, taking on the form of a man and dwelt among us. The word dwelt here means “tabernacled” or “pitched His tent.” Basically His body was a tent that He dwelled in while He lived among us. He showed us His glory through the miracles he performed, by His death and resurrection. This glory proved that He truly was the Son of God. And He was full of grace and truth meaning He was “completely gracious and at the same time completely righteous which is something only God can be” (Bible Commentary).
You see when Jesus became flesh and took the form of a man to dwell among us He also experienced everything we experience. Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Brennan Manning says in his book, The Ragamuffin Gospel, “Jesus has journeyed to the far reaches of loneliness. His broken body has carried your sins and mine, every separation and loss, every heart broken, every wound of the spirit that refuses to close, all the riven experiences of men, women, and children across the bands of time.”
We have confidence in what God is doing in our life because we know that Jesus “Died to save us and He lives to keep us” (Bible Commentary). His grace gives us the power to do what we don’t have the strength to do on our own. God knows what we are going through because He has already experienced it for us.
I still have no answer to why God heals some people and not others. I have no idea why God doesn't tell us what that miracle cure is. Some say there is a cure for many diseases but the powers to be don't want us to know so that we are kept in treatment to expand their pocketbooks. I tend to disagree because I think God has a reason for everything and sometimes we are not to know the whys. If we knew than we wouldn't need Him as much. Without suffering and trials we wouldn't have any reason grow stronger in our relationship with Him.
I know God has a plan for our lives. I know God loves us. I know God sent his Son Jesus to free us from our sin through his death and resurrection. I know because of all this that my life is in His hands. I may experience some terrible things but I experience them with the one who has journeyed there before me. I know through my suffering I gain strength where I am weak. I gain abilities to reach out where I once couldn't. I see Jesus like I've never seen Him before. I know He will always give me the grace to endure.
When I think about the whys as I struggle with the difficult questions I think of one thing: Just Grace.
Krista Jones - 8.29.14
Taken from Stillness of the Morning Blog
Just Grace - Week 35
“But he 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
I think I've mentioned a few weeks ago that I'm doing a word study on 6 words that will be in preparation for the first meeting with my cancer support group. Last word I studied was "healing". Healing was a difficult word to reflect upon knowing that many in our group are currently in treatment after several years of being in and out of treatment. I was left with the question of why does God completely heal some people and not others? My answer: I didn't know nor could I explain why. This week's word study was on "Grace".
In the above passage we see that Paul had a thorn that he asked the Lord to remove but the Lord’s answer to his prayer was not the way he had hopped for. “In effect, God said to Paul, ‘I will not remove the thorn, but I will do something better. I will give you grace to bear it. And just remember, Paul, that although I have not given you what you asked for, yet I am giving you what you need most deeply. You want my power and strength to accompany your preaching, don’t you? Well, the best way to have that happen is for you to be kept in a place of weakness.” (Bible Commentary)
In a nutshell God is saying that sometimes having Him by our side and the assurance of His strength and grace is better than removing us from our trials, sufferings and thorns.
WHAT? Does He really mean that? I think He does and here is why . . .
Human weakness will provide the ideal opportunity for displaying God’s divine power. Not only that but when we know God as our Savior we also know that His Grace IS already sufficient. It is not something we have to ask or work for because it has already been given.
How do we know this to be true? Because, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).
The "Word" in this verse is referring to Jesus Christ the Son of God. Jesus came to earth to experience the life of man. He became flesh, taking on the form of a man and dwelt among us. The word dwelt here means “tabernacled” or “pitched His tent.” Basically His body was a tent that He dwelled in while He lived among us. He showed us His glory through the miracles he performed, by His death and resurrection. This glory proved that He truly was the Son of God. And He was full of grace and truth meaning He was “completely gracious and at the same time completely righteous which is something only God can be” (Bible Commentary).
You see when Jesus became flesh and took the form of a man to dwell among us He also experienced everything we experience. Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Brennan Manning says in his book, The Ragamuffin Gospel, “Jesus has journeyed to the far reaches of loneliness. His broken body has carried your sins and mine, every separation and loss, every heart broken, every wound of the spirit that refuses to close, all the riven experiences of men, women, and children across the bands of time.”
We have confidence in what God is doing in our life because we know that Jesus “Died to save us and He lives to keep us” (Bible Commentary). His grace gives us the power to do what we don’t have the strength to do on our own. God knows what we are going through because He has already experienced it for us.
I still have no answer to why God heals some people and not others. I have no idea why God doesn't tell us what that miracle cure is. Some say there is a cure for many diseases but the powers to be don't want us to know so that we are kept in treatment to expand their pocketbooks. I tend to disagree because I think God has a reason for everything and sometimes we are not to know the whys. If we knew than we wouldn't need Him as much. Without suffering and trials we wouldn't have any reason grow stronger in our relationship with Him.
I know God has a plan for our lives. I know God loves us. I know God sent his Son Jesus to free us from our sin through his death and resurrection. I know because of all this that my life is in His hands. I may experience some terrible things but I experience them with the one who has journeyed there before me. I know through my suffering I gain strength where I am weak. I gain abilities to reach out where I once couldn't. I see Jesus like I've never seen Him before. I know He will always give me the grace to endure.
When I think about the whys as I struggle with the difficult questions I think of one thing: Just Grace.
Krista Jones - 8.29.14
Taken from Stillness of the Morning Blog