Relentless Grace

Relentless Grace

My grace is sufficient for you. 2 Cor 12:9

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7Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me--to keep me from exalting myself! 8Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. 9And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness " Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

(1 Cor. 12:7-10)

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The apostle Paul was obviously quite determined to address whatever weakness it
was that troubled him. He had wrestled with God and God had not removed the
challenge that Paul felt was hindering his ability to do more for the Lord. However,
in this passage we find that Paul has learned a valuable lesson. God did not tell him
His strength or power was sufficient. The emphasis is on grace. It seems as though
God needed to pour grace into Paul. Humility and grace seem to be close friends
and are seldom separated. When trusting God, these attributes are beautiful,
necessary characteristics in becoming Christ-like.

Recently, a dear friend whom I will call Ananias sought a promotion in his work.
Ananias had years of experience and was appreciated by his co-workers. There
were two vacancies that needed filling and both roles offered a new, growing
opportunity to serve His Lord. However, in both instances, Ananias was bypassed
and other co-workers became his supervisors.

This must have been an especially difficult time for Ananias. He had been a faithful
worker and supervisor. He had taken on several difficult challenges in the ministry
when no one else had seemed able to tackle them effectively. He had temporarily
served in one of the positions for a period of time with energy and wisdom.
Yet, when it came down to receiving the promotion, he had not
been given the responsibility.

Ananias exhibited remarkable humility and grace following this experience.
When it might be expected that he would exhibit annoyance and discouragement,
Ananias continued to be an encourager. He welcomed his new supervisors and did
what he could to make their tasks easier. For those of us who watched this man,
we saw God being honoured through Ananias in a way that could never have been
accomplished otherwise. His deepest heart commitment continued to be serving
Christ according to Christ’s choosing. Jesus was his friend and leader. It was not an
empty profession, but a fact lived out in his life during this difficult experience.
Everyone has a ‘thorn in the flesh’ at some time. It may be a person who causes us
grief and whom we can’t avoid; it may be a physical or mental disability or illness;

it could be a difficult experience which is a major disappointment. The apostle
Paul discovered that God’s grace can shine brightest in the midst of such trials.
People looking on, have an opportunity to see the reality of our walk
with Jesus. The level of our trust is truly discovered when we are
not in control, when things seem to be going wrong.

May God fill each one of us with His grace today. May the challenge we face be
used to confirm our faith and bring honour to our Saviour, friend and leader.

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Heavenly Father, it seems that I constantly come to You with the same request.
I still struggle to be free of it. I ask for help almost daily and yet circumstances
have not changed, and I feel no relief. If I am not to be freed from this influence
in my life, then please teach me what You want me to learn from it. I know that
I should continue my struggle and not give up, but I find it really hard and
even counter-productive as I try to live for You. Please help me to
trust You more fully. Amen.

- Noel Churchman

Noel was the Executive Director of Christian Horizons form 1976 to 2001. The devotionals we will be using are from a book he wrote in 2005 called “Walking with God”. Noel’s reflections are grounded in his experiences as an educator, and provider of supports for individuals with exceptional needs as well as his life as a dedicated follower of Christ.