Thankful For God's Grace

 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

7 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. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 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. 10 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.

Ephesians 2:8-9

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

As stated yesterday, grace is when God gives us something that we don’t deserve.

God’s grace is amazing. It not only takes care of our sin problem through the cross but also strengthens and sustains us every day of our life. The Lord never wavers in His good purpose for us, nor is He ever thwarted. His sustaining grace is the answer to our…

Difficult circumstances. Being a Christian does not exempt us from painful trials or unpleasant situations. The apostle Paul knew this firsthand. When he presented the good news of the gospel, some believed but many opposed him. In 2 Corinthians, he wrote that he had been in danger everywhere he went. He experienced rejection, beatings, and arrest but did not give up. God’s grace continually upheld and strengthened him. When life seems to be coming at us from all sides and it feels like we are in a hard place, we need to understand God’s grace and what that means in our life.  If you are a child of God, God is confident in you in that moment.  He knows you are placing your faith and trust in Him.  What we have to do is see how God is going to move in that situation.  His grace is amazing in helping us through difficult circumstances.

Personal suffering. Paul also spoke about the thorn in his flesh, which caused him great torment. Three times he asked God to remove it, but the Lord did not. Why? Because divine grace was sufficient. It would cover Paul’s needs. Grace had already taken the apostle from condemned to forgiven and from outsider to beloved child. Because he experienced the undeserved love of God, this zealous persecutor of the early church became a missionary spreading the good news about Jesus.  Let’s be honest here too.  Sometimes we need those reminders.  We need to experience the painful things or have those painful consequences in our life to keep us humbled and to always remember the impact of God’s grace in our lives.  We are stubborn at heart and quick to forget.  Remember the story of Joseph and the baker and butler.  The Bible tells us that after Joseph helped the butler by understanding the dream, he asked the butler one thing, to remember him.  Sadly, in a brief afterthought of the last verse in the chapter, it says, “but the butler forgot Joseph”...(paraphrase).  If we don’t have our own “thorns in the flesh”  God knows that more than likely we will forget to thank Him for His amazing and undeserved grace.  

The apostle declared that he was content with weaknesses, insults, distresses, and persecutions because he had experienced the Lord’s all-sufficient grace. He knew that God would continue to help him in every situation, and that regardless of his circumstances, living in the favor and love of God was enough. Is that true for you?  During this thanksgiving, can we look back on our life and see God’s grace manifested in it?  Can we look back at the hard times in our lives and thank God for the grace He has shown us.  Grace is something undeserved.  As mentioned above, sometimes those things that we don’t deserve are easy to forget.  We take them for granted.  Let us not be guilty of taking God’s grace for granted for it is our very key to salvation in Christ.  As Ephesians 2:8-9 said, 

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.




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