9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9
This verse has been haunting me for the last several weeks ever since it was referenced at church. I have shared it with several people and it has been in my thoughts daily. Now the verse is staring me in the face as I further reflect on its meaning as part of the Made to Crave book study with Proverbs 31 Online Bible Studies. My struggle lies in the words “my power is made perfect in weakness”. God’s power will shine through my weakness. Now for all to see and hear, I need to take one step forward and admit that I am weak. Just saying the words leaves me with sweaty palms and a fluttering heart. And now that the words have made their mark on this page, the permanence of my weakness has been etched in black and white. In order for the power of Christ to work in my life, I must allow my weaknesses to be made strong with God’s grace.
Struggles such as –
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knowing fully that God’s grace will be extended to me even when I mess up over and over
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knowing that God is all I need when I turn to food because I’m an emotional mess
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letting go and letting God intervene even when I think I can fix it myself
I could go on but the bottom line is that 2 Corinthians 12:9 is the answer and the promise stated in that verse literally brings me to my knees in humble gratitude that my mess can be made perfect by God.
Reflecting on the verse allowed me to look into grace and the depth of this one power-packed word. Grace has always intrigued me and continues to show up in God’s Word, in daily devotions and in other books that I read.
Grace – God’s gift to give – our gift to receive
Simple but intricate,
Free but costly in the giving of ourselves fully to Christ,
Sufficient yet inadequate when the gift is stubbornly refused
Grace – God’s gift freely given when we are weakest
Our gift to freely receive when we put ourselves and our ways aside
As I was reading more about grace and looking into the deeper meaning of this verse, I read the following from the NIV (New International Version) Life Application Study Bible. The notes explain 2 Corinthians 12:9 in this way:
“True humility is not convincing yourself that you are worthless but recognizing God’s work in you. It is having God’s perspective on who you are and acknowledging grace in developing your abilities.”
A beautiful truth to give God permission to be in charge of our weaknesses and to allow ourselves grace as we develop our abilities and make mistakes along the way. The simplicity of receiving God’s grace in our weakness and in our strength is anything but simple. But God takes the time to stand by our side through all and reach out when we fail.
Soak in the truth of these words and remember:
God never asked us to walk alone, He will always be by our side and His grace is sufficient in making our powerlessness become empowered.
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewedday by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
How will you soak in God’s promises today? How will God’s grace rescue you from your weakness?
Blessed to be linking with:
I’ve learned weakness and grace so often just from the physicality of life. I’ve been sick off and on for weeks and as an asthmatic, once it’s in my chest it’s near impossible to live my daily life without feeling like I just can’t do everything. I am wheezing walking up the stairs or picking up my son. I have to slow down and ponder how God is working in me when I am not working.
Prayers for you Alia that God’s grace gives you power in your weakness. Thank you for stopping by!
Hello! Stopping by from the (in)courage writers group .. Such an encouragement to read how the Lord has been molding and shaping your heart more and more into the image of Christ. It’s a painful business, this pruning He does, and yet He is faithful to the end, and indeed, His grace is sufficient and His power so evident through our weaknesses. Blessings from you, and may you continue to rely on Him to be your strength.
Thank you Kate! Blessed that you stopped by and shared encouragement with me too.
“Now for all to see and hear, I need to take one step forward and admit that I am weak. Just saying the words leaves me with sweaty palms and a fluttering heart.” My thoughts exactly! Admitting publicly, or recognizing that weaknesses are publicly known, can cause trembling in the knees! But His grace is sufficient, and somehow He draws people using the cracks seemingly more than the smooth places. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for stopping by.God’s grace pulls us forward and draws us back to Him. The path to God is bumpy and uncertain but His grace leads us to where we need to go. Blessings today and prayers for all that we know God’s grace is truly sufficient.
I absolutely loved how you truly dissected grace. Too often we just think of grace as a gift. Thats it, end of sentence. Grace IS a blessing. Grace IS free. Grace IS sufficient. Thank you so much for this ‘simple’ reminder 🙂 My name is Sara Dillman and I am the small group leader of group #43 and a few ladies have read your blog and loved it.
Thank you Sara for your kind words. I love writing and I love how God’s Word provides me with encouragement and His inspired words to share with others. Hope to see you again in my little slice of the blogging world. Blessings!
I, too, love the concept and meaning and unlimited supply of the grace God gives us, and the power there is when He rests on our weaknesses. Thank you for your message.
Thank you for stopping by! May God remind us all that He will never leave us alone even when we make mistakes over and over again. Blessings for God’s unending grace today and everyday!
I am a visual person. I can’t not remember where I heard this but the person was stating Jesus is patiently waiting for you everyday. When you leave the house in the morning; he is sitting there on your porch patiently waiting to see if you are going to invite him along. I try to remember that always. Today, I am going to sit with the Lord and allow grace to pour over me. Thank you for your honestly, you are always speaking directly to my heart.
I love the image of Jesus being right by our side. I will carry that with me today and everyday as a reminder that God’s grace is sufficient and He never leaves us. Blessings!
Today I will give my time to God in all my weakness. Only He can give me true strength. Thanks fir this, Mary.
Thanks, Karen for checking in today. I pray that we all feel God’s strength daily and are open to receiving His grace.
Our walk with God is full of opposites, isn’t it. I agree – admitting/allowing ourselves to be weak is difficult. The world tells us we need to be confident, strong, and self-sufficient. God tells us we need to be weak, so that His strength can shine through us. Keep clinging to Him 🙂
Amen! The world is full of opposites as you describe and our walk with God also pulls us in many directions. I’m praying we all feel God’s strength and know that we are never alone in our daily journey.
ooohhhh I love the study notes you shared from your bible!! Too often I hear so much of “we arent worthy of Your grace” etc etc and I want to shout out “who says you arent?” God certainly doesnt say that! We are worthy because He has called us His own! I love to see God working in and through people – thank you for sharing that today! Have a Blessed Day! Gena (Group 50)
Thank you Gena for stopping by! What a blessing we receive each day when we just open our arms to receive God’s love and grace. Blessings to you today!