“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9, KJV)
When the Lord saved me in 1983, the church we joined used to have an evening service with praise and worship songs. One of the songs we learned was Jehovah-Jireh.
Jehovah Jireh
My provider
His grace is sufficient
For me
My God shall supply all my needs
According to His riches in glory
While the lyrics resonated with me at the time, I did not understand the depth of God’s grace. It took more time to comprehend the greater meaning of grace. My original thought was that it was only that gift of God by which we would get to heaven at the end of this life. Yet when we see the Lord’s answer to Paul’s plea for deliverance from the thorn in the flesh, our perspective will greatly broaden. The Lord answered him, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” Paul would have to endure the thorn in his flesh. The only way he would endure was by the supernatural manifestation of God’s grace in him.
I have met many people who went through serious physical trials. After explaining that our prayer group had been praying for them, they would state they sensed our prayers. They would give glory to God as they went through the issue victoriously.
Grace is that gift of God that takes ordinary people and lifts them to extraordinary heights. It is by grace that we are saved and we receive eternal life. Yet it is not just to save us from sin so we can get to heaven someday. It is the gift that gives us the ability to be free from bondage to sin in this life also. By God’s grace, we have every good thing. It is by grace that we have been moved from spiritual paupers to be made spiritually rich. It is by God’s grace that we have the ability and power to do good works which glorify Him. It is grace that gives us the ability to abound in good works, giving of ourselves and resources to help those in need. It is by grace that we are being sanctified, that is to grow in the likeness of Jesus. By grace we have been given spiritual abilities to serve in the church.
Moreover, God continues to grant more and more grace to us. James indicated, “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” (James 4:6, KJV). Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who provides, provides us with abundant grace so that we can live the abundant fruitful life to which He called us. When we say that we cannot outgive God, it is exactly right. He has given us grace that no money could buy and He keeps on giving grace to us again and again. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God for His abundant grace.
Renewing the Heart 