Sufficient grace....

My husband told me that my previous blogs have been too long. Imagine that - me talking too much...."Debbie," he said. "people won't spend a long time reading these - Keep it short." That's like telling me not to breathe. But admittedly I do always tend to give people a drink of water from a fire hose..so I'll try to condense these a little more in the future.

Now Paul was a writer who knew how to get right to the point. He just said, "here's how it is...whether you like it or not."

In II Corinthians 12:9, God told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you”.

I couldn't just accept that at face value. I wanted to know what that simple phrase really meant. I mean if I'm going to go overboard when I teach it or write about it, then I've got to understand it fully. I pondered those words for a long time one morning. I began to ask God exactly how far I could stretch that promise from Him. Just how sufficient is His grace? What if I drifted really far from His presence? He assured me that drifting away from Him was not even possible. He would never allow it. I may get so caught up in pursuits of the flesh that my awareness of being in His presence diminishes, but His grace always holds me close to Him.

But I wondered what would happen if I messed up really badly? What if I returned to some recurring sin? In response to that concern, God showed me that He knew every sin I would ever commit for the rest of my life on the day that He saved me. He took care of all of them in advance. I could never make such a mess that the forgiveness He has already provided would not be enough to cover them.

He also showed me that His grace in my life has never been based on my actions. I could never do anything good enough to deserve it or bad enough to lose it. The very essence and the definition of grace makes it a gift that is totally undeserved and totally secure. Grace is what God did on my behalf; based on His love for me and not on anything I have ever done or will ever do.

God gave me a life principle that I can claim forever from II Corinthians 12:9 that morning. It was as if He was saying to me, “My unmerited favor towards you is so extreme that it will reach as far as you will ever need for it to go”.


Never take God’s grace for granted. It’s too precious for that. But never be afraid of losing it or moving out from under its provision and protection. The security of grace is based on the Giver of grace and you can’t get any more secure than that.

This reminder of the sufficiency of God’s grace gives me much reason for thanksgiving all over again. Isn’t it wonderful to know that you can never drift out of His reach? Isn’t it a relief to know that there is nothing you can do that is bad enough to cause Him to abandon you? Isn’t it comforting to know that nothing you do is a surprise to Him? It’s important to never take advantage of His promises. Instead, claim them in your life and respond with obedience that is a natural outflow of your thanksgiving. I'm going to spend a few moments now just praising God again for the sufficiency and steadfastness of His grace.

Oops - sorry Tim - I went too long again I suppose. Give me an inch and I'll take a page and a half.