December 6 – Godly Competence

“Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God,” 2 Corinthians 3:5 (ESV)

It is not that we are able in ourselves to do what we should do when it comes to proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ to others. To do so as we are commanded requires that we seek God to supply the means and the ability. The Apostle Paul was thinking of the results of his ministry in the city of Corinth. Many people had been brought into the family of God while Paul was preaching and teaching in that city. As he writes this letter he wanted to be sure to acknowledge that it was God who deserves the credit for the results of his work. We all need to consider and be careful to give our Lord credit for His work in our lives too. God is involved in anything of value in our lives. We need to recognize that without God's working in and through us nothing of eternal value is accomplished. Let's remember the promise that our competence, our sufficiency, and our adequacy comes from God and that He wants to use us to do His work, to do something worthwhile in life. Let's allow Him to use us today.

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May 17 – Power to Perfect the Weakness

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

Weakness is bad, right? None of us seek to be seen as weak even if we are weak. Yet, these words were written as a testimony by the Apostle Paul. Paul tells of a prayer he had earnestly prayed three times asking God to remove a problem that he called “a thorn in the flesh.” We do not know just what it was while many who also do not know speculate with assumptions. What we do know is that God knows what is best for us and everything that He does for us is for our best even when it's not what we asked for. God knew what was best for the Apostle Paul. God also knew the perfect solution for his problem.  Paul acknowledged his weakness; it had a purpose – to glorify God.  Paul learned to even boast of his weaknesses. If we are true children of God we will want more than anything else, that God's name will be glorified. We want to realize His power is perfect and all he does is perfect. When God does not do just what we ask of Him, He always gives us the grace and power to overcome.

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December 5 – Great Things He Does

“Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,” 2 Corinthians 3:5 (NASB)

The Apostle Paul was thinking about the results of his ministry in the city of Corinth. Many people had been brought into the family of God while Paul was preaching and teaching in that city. As he writes this letter he wanted to be sure to acknowledge that it was God who deserves the credit for the results of his work. Too often we are tempted to consider our Christian work is  the result of our own efforts. We all need to consider and be careful to give our Lord credit for His work in our lives. God is involved in anything of value in our lives. We need to recognize that without God's working in and through us nothing of eternal worth is accomplished. Let's remember the promise that our ability, our sufficiency, and our adequacy come from God. He wants to use us to do His work, to do something worthwhile in life. Let's allow Him to use us today. The words to the hymn, “To God Be The Glory” helps us to sing out the truth of God’s competence and ability to provide our adequacy in this life. “Great things He has done.”

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November 11 – Beneficial Sufficiency

“And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NASB)

Context is important all the time and especially for our verse today. It comes in the midst of Paul’s defense of his apostleship to the believers in Corinth. Such is our promise today. This is God’s universal purpose for all the suffering Christians have in life. Suffering develops our trust and contentment in God as we learn to have less dependence on ourselves and the ways of this world. Paul stresses for us, that in our sufferings we find the glory of Christ’s all-sufficient grace magnified. God repeats for us each time, what He said to Paul in answer to the request to remove the thorn of suffering he was experiencing, “My grace is sufficient for you.”  It is sufficient and beneficial because the power of Christ is given to us to overcome suffering. And that power is made perfect when we need it most – when our weaknesses are most exposed. So suffering is intended by God not only as a way to wean us off of self and onto grace, but also as a way to spotlight that grace and make it shine. That is exactly what faith does: it magnifies Christ’s grace in the future.

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September 29 – Seek First Instead – How Not To Worry Part 6

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:33-34 (ESV)

In our passage Jesus provides and alternative to worry and it really is not and optional alternative. If we certainly desire to be rid of worry and anxiety, we need to replace it with God’s way of righteousness. This is the Way of living Jesus taught throughout his time on Earth. As Jesus promises, he supply these needs and we will more clearly see that promise fulfilled if we choose through obedience to set our sights on the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. We know what that means, right? The Kingdom way is found in God’s inspired Scriptures. God will never let us go without supplying our needs but the pleasure, joy, and satisfaction of His provision is best seen without worry and with focus on the righteousness God calls us to. Being anxious about the future means we are borrowing pain and trouble from tomorrow. Trust in God for what we need today and when today is yesterday and tomorrow is today, we trust again in God for what we need. We have enough ‘cares’ from today to cast onto the Lord who cares about us. We’ll cast tomorrow’s cares on Him tomorrow. 

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February 7 – Worried About Being Weak

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”  -  2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)

When we face times of testing our faith, we might experience doubt in our endurance or strength under trial in the same way the Apostle Paul did.  He had a persistent troubling condition he called ‘a thorn in his flesh.’  Asking God to remove it did not bring about Paul’s desired result. A condition exposed weaknesses in Paul.  We too have conditions which magnify our weaknesses, especially those which are pestered by the enemy in his efforts to destroy us. No matter whatever conditions we face as challenges to our desire and effort to obey God’s Word, even if our weaknesses are exposed, we do not have to worry over them as if being weak is a deficiency. Trusting in God’s word and His promise to provide the grace we need, we can be strengthened by God’s power.  Nothing demonstrates power more than situations that need it.  Our weakness too is an opportunity to avail ourselves of God’s promised power.  In fact, instead of worry about our weaknesses, we can boldly proclaim how Christ helps us overcome them. Paul bravely boasted about his weaknesses because of what God had promised him. Let’s do so too.

Next: Worrying About Decisions

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January 12 – Weakness to Boast About

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”  - 2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)

Today, we consider a different kind of promise and one we probably need to remember more often.  What is challenging our faith today? What do we find overwhelming and seeking relief from God?  If we find ourselves in that kind of predicament, we can understand that the Apostle Paul faced difficult conditions.  Paul asked God three times to relieve him of this specific painful condition.  We don’t know what it was even though Paul writes that its purpose was to keep him humble.  But we do know that God did not relieve Paul of his 'thorn' but promised to provide the apostle sufficient grace needed to endure it. And God also promises us enough grace to overcome our challenges.  Not just enough grace but grace that excels in helping us to be strong when we are very weak.  Weakness actually brings the supply of grace and strength from God and demonstrates God’s power in our lives.  It led Paul to boast about his weaknesses.  Can we do the same?  When we are weak, we can know that God’s grace is strong and sufficient for us to endure.

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November 6 – Sufficient Grace and Mercy – Seven of Seven

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”  - Matthew 6:34  (ESV)

It is the seventh promise of seven from the larger passage we have considered. Matthew 6:25-34  The passage instructs us to not be anxious for anything but especially not for our personal material needs.  Jesus tells us to seek not the supply of our those needs but to seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness. He promises to be the supply we need for all things. And then we have the instruction in today's verse.  Do not be anxious (worry or be concerned) about tomorrow.  How often when once we have dealt with today's challenges we begin to worry about tomorrow's challenges.  Tomorrow there are other challenges we do not need to take up today.  Here is the promise from Jesus: Today we have enough trouble to deal with.  And God always gives us enough grace and strength so that we can bear the trouble.  Each day also has all the mercies we need from God.  New mercies come each morning that are sufficient for that day's trouble.  Don't take them up today.  Let's face today with all the grace and mercy we need and God promises to be with us tomorrow to help us as well.  

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*Some of this content has been drawn from a series of articles from "Solid Joys" a daily devotional by John Piper.  Desiring God 

May 17 – Our Source of Sufficiency

“Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God,”   2 Corinthians 3:4-5 (ESV)

These words, written by the Apostle Paul, express his confidence in the Lord as the one who was enabling him to serve as an apostle.  In the same way, we can take encouragement being reminded by this promise how God also helps us to serve Him and to live for Him.  Whatever kind of activity we are involved in we need to recognize that we are serving the Lord and living for Him.  We base our ability to be of service not on anything we have in ourselves, that is not on our own ability but on the help which we have from God.  It is God who makes us sufficient to be of service to Him and to respond to His call to believe in Him and to serve him.  God is involved in our lives every day.  He is the one who is at work in and through us.  Let's be sure we acknowledge where our sufficiency comes from – it is not from ourselves – it is from God who supplies our every need in Christ Jesus. 

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August 12 – Staking No Claim

“Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God,”  2 Corinthians 3:4-5 (ESV)

Today's verse selection is a testimony by the Apostle Paul.  He wrote about the source of his ability to carry on the work God had given to him.  The apostle was a very intelligent man and a very capable person.  He had an impressive resume.  But he knew that his personal abilities were not sufficient to do anything of eternal value.  He recognized that it was God who had been accomplishing His works through him.  The wonderful truth in all this is that God does work through human personalities, He is working in your life my friend, to perform His purpose.  And what is our responsibility?  It is to admit our inabilities and to allow God to work through us.  We give God the credit through praise and worship for what He is doing.  We don't take credit for the work that God does with us, it is all for His glory.  The rest, as Paul told the Philippians is worthless, rubbish.  But what God does with us is sufficient to accomplish what He intends to do.  

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December 6 – Godly Competence

“Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,” 2 Corinthians 3:5 (NASB)

The Apostle Paul was thinking of the results of his ministry in the city of Corinth. Many people had been brought into the family of God while Paul was preaching and teaching in that city. As he writes this letter he wanted to be sure to acknowledge that it was God who deserves the credit for the results of his work. We all need to consider and be careful to give our Lord credit for His work in our lives too.  God is involved in anything of value in our lives. We need to recognize that without God's working in and through us nothing of eternal value is accomplished. Let's remember the promise that our competence, our sufficiency, and our adequacy comes from God and that He wants to use us to do His work, to do something worthwhile in life. Let's allow Him to use us today.

November 18 – Fully Sufficient

“You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall” Isaiah 25:4 (NIV)

The prophet Isaiah knew the wonder of God and what He did for His own who were in need. This verse gives us four ways that God promised to provide for the needy in Isaiah's day. Our Lord God also meets our needs in our lives. He is a refuge and we can look to Him when we feel threatened and when we wonder how things will work out for us. When our life is like stormy weather we can find shelter with our Lord. And if our situation reminds us of a hot desert we can find relief from the heat. Sometimes we face people who have us up against a wall – we can trust and know God is with us to help us.  So, let's allow the words of our verse to remind us today how full sufficient our God is to be there and meet our every need. 

May 13 – His Power Is Perfect

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

Is this a familiar verse to you, or is it new? These words were written as a testimony by the Apostle Paul in his second letter to the church at Corinth. Paul tells of a prayer he had earnestly prayed three times asking God to remove a physical problem. God knows what is best for us and everything that He does for us is for our best even when it is not what we asked for. God knew what was best for the Apostle Paul. God also knew the perfect solution for his problem.  Paul knew that his weakness had a purpose – to glorify God.  If we are true children of God we will want more than anything else, that God's name will be glorified. We want to realize that His power is perfect and all that he does is perfect. We also want to trust that God is doing what is best for us and even when He does not do just what we ask of Him, He gives us the grace and power to overcome.