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Grace is Enough

by Jerry Ousley  
10/02/2015 / Christian Living

I remember our son's first Christmas, when he was old enough to understand what it was about anyway. Deb and I couldn't wait to see the look on his face as he opened the gifts, some of which he had asked for, while others were a complete surprise. We just knew that he was going to have a good time with those new toys.

We began handing out gifts and he tore open the packages like an old pro. As we expected, he was happy with his new toys (not so much with his new clothes but what can you expect from a boy? Even today I'd much rather get some gadget or tool rather than clothes).

Then a strange thing happened. After looking over his gifts we noticed that he climbed into one of the boxes that was large enough to accommodate him, and he started pretending that he was driving a car. No wait a minute what about the toys? What we discovered was that at his age he was just as happy with the boxes as he was with the toys! Can you figure it?

The point is that he was thrilled with something new even if it was a box; it was enough. Of course he liked his new toys and eventually went back to them, but could we have gotten away with just wrapping up a box? Who knows?

Finding the place where we have enough is important. Paul found that place. He writes in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, "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.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong." What a powerful revelation!

We don't really know what Paul's thorn in the flesh was. He chose not to tell us. Some have speculated that he had a disease, or that his bad eyesight was the problem. After all, God had used Paul in some very miraculous healings. So why couldn't the healer heal himself? I'm certain that Paul thought something very similar to this. We don't know what his thorn in the flesh was but we know where it came from. Paul identified it as a "messenger of Satan to buffet him." The word "buffet" could also be interpreted as "chastening" or "beating one with the fist." Paul was saying that a messenger (or angel angel means messenger) from the devil had been allowed by God to beat up on Paul to keep him from being lifted up due to the many revelations he had received. This thorn in the flesh was to keep him humble.

He sought God three times to remove it, but it was not removed. Instead the Lord spoke to Paul telling him, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." This was not what Paul wanted to hear, not at first anyway. Who among us who need a healing would want to hear that God refused to remove it because it was what kept us in check? God was telling Paul that His grace was enough. It's a lesson we also need to learn. There are times that a messenger of the devil is allowed to beat up on us. We don't like it, who would? It isn't God doing the beating but the devil and only as much as God will allow.

We need to realize the grace of God. We must know that we are nothing without Him and sometimes He will allow a messenger of the devil to bring calamity upon us. When He does God is only using the devil to keep us in check. We can know that God will not allow us to be tempted above what we are able to bear. But He wants us to depend on His grace. He wants us to always know that we are helpless without Him and so we have our own thorn in the flesh. But learn as Paul did, that God's grace is enough.

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.

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