“My grace is sufficient for you.” [2 Cor 12:9 NIV]
It is in the times of greatest trials that we prove this promise to be true. If we were never tried or poor or needy, how would we know the depths of God’s grace? Spurgeon wrote: “The master-works of God are those men [and women] who stand in the midst of difficulties, stedfast, unmoveable,– ‘Calm mid the bewildering cry, Confident of victory.’ He who would glorify his God must set his account upon meeting with many trials.”
How many times have I cried out in worship, “Oh God, be glorified in my life!” I forget the “many trials” that will often lead the way.
Glorifying God requires obedience. It requires sacrifice. It requires picking up my cross daily and following Christ Jesus. Glorying God requires the spirit of John the Baptizer, “He must increase, I must decrease.”
Glorying God cannot be achieved in our own strength, however. It cannot be achieved through willpower. It requires the all-sufficient grace of God. When Paul faced his toughest challenge, he cried out to God in prayer three times for healing. God’s promise was that His grace was sufficient – it was enough. It was all Paul would need to be triumphant.
What are you facing? Are the trials of life many and deep? Then be comforted, beloved, God’s grace is available, and it is sufficient. It will be enough to make you “stand in the midst of difficulties, stedfast, unmoveable.”
