but He said to me, “My Grace is sufficient for you, for Power is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the Strength of Christ may dwell in me. 2 Corinthians 12:9
Apostle Paul has been buffeted by a 'thorn in his flesh''; a sickness and fear. He seeks the heavenly Father three times, like our Lord sought His Father, and on the third time God tenderly responds, "My Grace is sufficient..." We see that there may be more Grace when pain strikes. And he glories in his weakness, not in his revelations, that the Strength of Christ covers him all over like a tent.
Like Paul, whatever you are going through may not be lifted off of you and yet you may let God sustain you, strengthen you in Christ, and you learn during it and are a better example to others. A tent of Christ's strength, outward and inward, comes when you give all of yourself to God during the most trying of events in your life. Armando Valladares, a prisoner in Cuba during Castro's regime, witnesses to Grace for us.
Locked up for 22 years, with executions almost daily, tortured mentally and physically, Armando says that our Lord gave him spiritual strength to bear up under trying conditions. He didn't ask God to remove conditions but he asked to feel God's strengthening Presence. He did. This is how he stood firm in Faith. In his book, 'Against All Hope' he says, "I only prayed for Him to accompany me."
Many believers in Scriptures faced difficult circumstances from which they were not delivered.And like Paul and Armando, each moment you recognize your nagging weakness and then turn to Lord Jesus for His strength, you receive His surging Strength. In weakness we receive Grace sufficient.
To God be the Glory!
Rev. Patricia E. Walker,
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