God's Grace Is Sufficient

Note from today’s Bible reading: 2 Corinthians 12-13

The apostle Paul had the privilege of receiving God’s will directly from heaven and then imparting it to others. It would be easy for one in such a position to become arrogant and think he is more important than others.

For this reason, Paul said that he had also been given “a thorn in the flesh…to keep [him] from exalting [himself]” (2 Corinthians 12:7). We are not told exactly what this was (though that has not stopped people from speculating about it), but we do know that it was not pleasant. In fact, Paul said he “implored the Lord three times that it might leave [him]” (2 Corinthians 12:8).

Rather than answering Paul’s prayer in the way that the apostle desired, the Lord responded, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Despite whatever this difficulty may have been, Paul learned to be “content with weaknesses…for Christ’s sake” (2 Corinthians 12:10). Having to endure this hardship taught him to rely on the Lord and encourage others to put their trust in Him.

We will endure hardships in life, and we will pray that the Lord will remove these difficulties. Yet as we learn from Paul, our prayers will not always be answered as we desire, and that is alright.

So remember that God’s grace is sufficient. Our trials remind us of our own weaknesses and limitations. Let us learn to trust in the Lord as we deal with our own “thorn in the flesh.”