12.19.2013

My Grace is Sufficient #1

"...but he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in your weakness.' So I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak I am strong." 
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
 
This is one of my favorite verses, so much so in fact I painted it on my wall. The thing is though, it's been popping up everywhere it seems like....even overseas. Since this verse gets around, I decided to investigate its meaning when personally applied to peoples lives.
 
Don't read the rest of this if you don't have time to sit down, read, think and reflect. It'll actually be a series of posts because I have been asking so many people for responses. Take some time out of your day to really read them and examine your heart about this issue. After reading them, I hope you can identify with some of the responses and can draw up an answer of your own. Let me know what you think if you want, or have an answer too.


"Your weaknesses and hardships make you stronger, which gives you a greater insight of God's love and why you need him your life. I have realized this based on personal experience because at times I have felt so alone because of my flaws, but then I realized God was all I needed, and the rest is sure to come."
Katie


"It means that we can rejoice when we are weak! It frees me from complaining about my weaknesses and my problems and gives me something to rejoice about. We can rejoice because we know Jesus is using our weaknesses to draw us closer to Him, and that is definitely cause for rejoicing! So every day when I am walking through life and somebody says something rude to me, or I'm having difficulty with school, or I get sick, I know that through those trials and problems, Jesus is drawing me closer to Himself. He turns my complaints into songs of joy!"
Hannah



"He uses our weakness that we might not boast in ourselves. If it were out strength, then glory would be credited to the person. But it's our weakness, so the credit goes to God. Take Moses for instance--he stuttered and he himself claimed that as his weakness. He argued with God, saying there was no way the people would follow him because of that. But people did follow--obviously it wasn't due to Moses' great speaking abilities, so Moses cannot boast in his ability to gain a large following. This has been a rock for me with my hearing impairment/vision loss--God has used those very weaknesses to bring him glory and he is the only explanation for the things I've been able to do."
Jeff


"I've had a lot of times where I've been weak in these past few months. Or perhaps I was always weak, but I just didn't see it. God is stripping me of my pride and all the masks that I wore (though I still have a lot of pride that needs more of me dying to myself) and making me nothing. I guess that we can only be something once we've been made weak and almost nothing at all. It's terrible but it takes hardships and sufferings to lead me fully to the God of the universe. And even then I don't follow Him fully. Sufferings and hardships make my sinful flesh scream in pain and in terror. But my heart runs to Jesus and in Him, even during those times of suffering, I find that His grace IS sufficient  and that He IS enough. In fact He's more than enough. My flesh might be rejecting the hardships but my soul welcomes them. Because even in insults, in my weakness, in calamities and in times where everything is spinning out of control I can find that He is more than I could ever want or imagine." 
Kendra


"It means to me that I don't have to be perfect. I don't have to strive for my standards or anyone else's. Just God's. He even goes further than that--He transforms my weaknesses into good things for Him through His grace. I am getting more and more to the point to where I can say 'Thank you Lord, for I am weak and can't do this alone. you know and hold my purpose, you are the one who makes me beautiful despite my flaws.'"
Rachel



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