Grace Sufficient

“Grace Sufficient”
2 Corinthians 12: 7-10

Someone asked President Lincoln if he was troubled by all the parts of the Bible that were so difficult to understand. President Lincoln replied, “No. What concerns me are all the parts I do understand.”

That simple exchanged reveals two important truths. First, there are teachings of Scripture that are fairly straight forward and simple to grasp – such as love God and love your neighbor – that can keep us busy 24/7 for the rest of our lives. And, there are other parts of the Bible that are a mystery to us. If we are not careful we can spend more time trying to solve the mysteries of God than we do fulfilling the commands of God.

In 2 Corinthians 12 Paul says that he has a thorn in his flesh that has caused him great pain. There have been many theories as to what exactly this thorn was—so many theories in fact, that it is impossible to diagnose Paul's situation with complete assurance. But that hasn't stopped people from speculating. Google the phrase "thorn in the flesh" and you will get 316,000 hits. Some have suggested that Paul's thorn came in the form of Jewish persecution, or maybe that Paul's own remembrance of his past was his thorn; Paul's past included the persecution of the church which may have continually haunted him and kept him humble. Some even propose that Paul dealt with either carnal temptation or depression. Others suggest a physical ailment such as malaria, Malta fever, epilepsy, convulsive attacks, and chronic problems with his eyesight.

All of this speculation is evidence of our human need to try and understand everything that touches our lives. We can get so caught up in trying to understand why one person seems blessed and another person has a life of trouble that we miss the point Paul is making when he shared this part of his life. Paul experienced the sufficiency of God’s grace. God has promised His presence is always with us – through the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives – and His presence is grace sufficient to meet every need of our life.

Someone said that a person with an experience is not at the mercy of a person with an argument. I think for Paul that meant that neither the arguments of his opposition or the difficulties of his circumstances were able to diminish the sufficiency of his personal experience in God’s grace.

In our present time Matt Redman has captured this thought in his song of praise, “Blessed Be Your Name.” The lyrics include these words:

Blessed Be Your Name;
In the land that is plentiful;
Where your streams of abundance flow;
Blessed be your name

Blessed Be Your name;
When I'm found in the desert place;
Though I walk through the wilderness;
Blessed Be Your name
Blessed be Your name;
When the sun's shining down on me;
When the world's 'all as it should be';
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be Your name;
On the road marked with suffering;
Though there's pain in the offering;
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing you pour out;
I'll turn back to praise;
When the darkness closes in;
Still I will say;
Blessed be the name of the Lord

Selah,
Alex