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Sustained By Grace

Tuesday, November 10 2015

You have more than likely heard about the testimonies of those to whom God miraculously appeared in the midst of their situations when they cried out to him. People that God healed from cancer, or whose broken marriage God restored. Perhaps you have heard about the family with a son who was a prisoner to an addiction but because God heard the prayers of his family, today he is a devoted follower of Jesus. Over the years you may have heard more testimonies than you can possibly remember. However, you feel overwhelmed by the fact that when you pray, it seems as though God is not listening to your prayer. Perhaps you have been praying for a miracle but there does not seem to be a miracle coming your way. Is it that God loves you less than He does the people in whose lives he has miraculously shown up?

If there ever were someone who deserved a miracle, it would probably be the Apostle Paul. Paul made many sacrifices for the sake of the Gospel. Paul was imprisoned and flogged so many times he lost count he was beaten three times with rods and on five occasions he received forty lashed minus one. Why minus one? Because with thirty-nine lashes you could bring a human to the brink of death without killing them, the fortieth would be a death sentence. On another occasion, Paul was stoned and left for dead.

These are just a few of the sacrifices Paul endured because of his decision to follow Jesus. It is interesting to note however that through the Apostle, God performed extraordinary miracles, miracles so extraordinary that when word got out, people began to bring handkerchiefs and scarves to touch Paul’s skin. Once they touched Paul they would then go and touch the sick with these items and they would receive healing. In light of all this, you would think that Paul, if anyone, was deserving of having his prayers answered,

2 Corinthians 12:7-9 NIV

I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

There are times when the grace of God will bring about the corresponding answer to our prayer, but then there are times when His grace is what we receive and it sustains and strengthens us through the difficulties. There is the saving grace of God, which saves us from our sins, and there is the sustaining grace of God that carries us through the most difficult trials, obstacles, and storms in our lives.

The sustaining grace of God is sufficient to meet every single challenge in your life even when you fear it will not be enough. Gods sustaining grace is not just enough it is always more than enough.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NIV

“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. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

 We can ask anything of God. However, if His answer is not the answer we hoped for, He will always grant us grace. Remember grace is always more than enough. Grace is Gods power operating in and through us when we are weak.

Have you been praying but feel as though God is not answering your prayers? Then pray that God may grant you grace and watch how grace eliminates your fears and gives you strength to deal with anything life may throw your way.