sufficient grace

Saturday, September 24, 2011 (8:43 a.m.)

Primm, NV

Blessed Lord,

Do we talk this morning about ‘sufficiency’ or ‘grace’? At this particular moment I’m not at all sure where to find the verse Paul spoke of concerning Your grace being sufficient in weakness. I forgot to bring a concordance and I am relying on You to guide me directly where You want me this morning.

Right now my body is filled with aches and pains. I can do some stretches and exercises to find some relief but I’m sure that throughout the day I will be limited in my movement. And right here I choose to say “Thank You Lord”. Thank You that I have You to come to with every single problem I have.

Perfect Lord and Savior, I believe my body is desperately trying to tell me something. And I confess to consistently trying to ignore whatever it is. I attempt taking shortcuts away from the pain. This morning I am asking instead that You would use it to guide and direct me exactly where you want me to be.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011 (7:08 a.m.)

And I’m back! Thanking You. Praising You. Asking You. Seeking You. Knocking at Your powerfully, mighty door.

Blessed Lord, You showed me the verse of Paul’s I was thinking of the other morning just moments after I asked for it. I’ve continued coming to it each day since finding it, along with a verse from Peter I had initially found.

Back and forth I go, considering the truth that ‘Your grace IS sufficient for me and Your power IS made perfect in weakness’ (2Corinthians 12:9). ‘And the God of all grace, who called me to His eternal glory in Christ, after I have suffered a little while, will Himself restore me and make me strong, firm and steadfast’ (1Peter 5:10).

I claim these verses Lord as a reason for the aches and pains I am experiencing. This is all new to me. I’m used to having a pain, figuring out a way of relieving it and going on about my business. Now, instead, I keep bringing it to You. “Oh God.” “Ouch.” “This hurts.” And here again, I thank You!

Thank You that You are here. Ever offering Your Way, Your Truth, Your Life (John 14:6). Turning to this verse, I am again knocked into an awareness and sense of truly being AGOG [excited and eager to tell J] with You!

Bracketed above Chapter 14 are verses 34 and 35 of chapter 13. “And so I am giving a new commandment to you now – love each other just as much as I love you. Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that You are my disciples.”

All of a sudden, the pain doesn’t matter to me! The truth of these two verses and the attached commentary make me want to run out the door shouting of Your goodness.

I’ve read this section before. The date written in the margin is “4-2-96”. Something else was going on in our lives at that particular time. Today, at this very moment, Your Truth again brings us full circle.

Thank You Lord. Thank You for the truth, the goodness, the power of Your love! Truly Lord. I long to dive right into and live amidst Your Word. There’s a freshness here. A newness. Something sparked when I read again that 'loving others as You would have us is beyond our own capabilities.' Only the coming of the Holy Spirit would lift Peter, and the rest of us, beyond ourselves, giving him (and us) the ability to love others as You loved us.

I am reminded in readings of this new commandment that, “Being loved by God is just a beginning.” We have to accept Your love before we can offer it to others. “Our ability to love others (and ourself) is based upon the degree to which we have received God’s love (most often through other people). In this sense, it is appropriate to consider our need to be loved before we think of giving love to others. Otherwise, we will be trying to give something that we don’t have. If we try to do this, we will end up giving to others in hope of receiving something in return. This kind of selfish gift never feels good to us or to the person we are trying to help. When we love one another out of the overflow of God’s love, then our witness and service can be effective toward recovery.”

Dearest Lord, enable me to love as You would have me love! Truly fill my cup to overflowing (Psalm 23:5) that I would freely share Your bounty with others.

I love You Lord. Thank You. Amen.

(743 words ~ 9:07 a.m.)