“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness'” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

 

How do you feel when you go to the storeroom and find it empty, barren, swept clean, and there is nothing there to clothe you; or you knock on the door of a friend’s home, fully expecting him to open the door and welcome you, but there is no response to your knock; or you persistently call the office of your doctor, and he never returns your call? You walk away feeling empty, spurned, and rejected, right?

Then go one step further. What’s your reaction when you pray about something—your prayer is earnest, even desperate—but you walk away with your pain and no apparent answer? You think your prayer has gone no further than the sound of your voice.

There is a perception today that most of us aren’t good enough to get through to God in the time of need. Yes, perhaps, a few chosen, special people do, but not the working walking wounded, who stumble, get up, cry out of help, and seem to never quite get it together. Now, if you find yourself in that number, take heart. Paul—the theologian of the New Testament—tells how he sought God three times; and He prayed earnestly that God would take away a thorn in the flesh, but it didn’t happen. What was his thorn? Probably a physical affliction, perhaps an eye disorder, but whatever it was bothered him.

Now, Paul had seen God demonstrate His power in the lives of others. So, Paul cried out to God this time for himself. You can read about it in 2 Corinthians 12 of the New Testament. So, how did God respond?

Paul reports, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness'” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Stop! No, God hadn’t closed the door, or turned off the phone, or gone deaf to his cry. He answered. He promised grace for his pain; but what is grace? The simplest, plainest explanation is that it means God’s help, His intervention, His strength for your weakness. The next phrase, “is sufficient,” conveys a picture that explains it all. The word that Paul used conveys the idea of erecting a bulwark, a fortification, or a dike of earth which you hide behind, and that gives you protection from your enemy.

Are you beginning to see how God answers prayer? Different, perhaps, from what you ask for, but very real and personal? It’s the picture of God in the trenches with you as His grace becomes a barrier—a wall of protection between you and your pain or difficulty.

No, God never promised to heal every disease, though He is the great healer, but He did promise to walk with you, never to leave you or forsake you, to be your strength in the time of weakness, and your companion in the time of loneliness. “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” said David long ago (Psalm 34:18).

John Bunyan, immortalized by his allegory of the Christian life in his book Pilgrim’s Progress, spent long years in prison for his faith. Bunyan wrote, “He that is down, need fear no fall; He that is low, no pride; He that is humble ever shall have God to be his guide.”

It’s true, we all prefer deliverance from our pain, our suffering, our prisons. Yet to taste of God’s grace stops indifference in its tracks and help you understand that healing and help comes as you trust Him. God’s presence with you in the trenches, in your suffering, in your dark hour, is important. How else learn what God told Paul: “My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9)? It’s still true.

 

Resource reading: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10.