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Thanksgiving is a time set aside to remind us to be a thankful people. What do we have to be thankful about? What is the one thing that God gives us that will never be taken away, will never decrease in its value or power, will never change nor vary?
There is a magnificent word that is used in the N.T. 155 times. It is the word 'car-is'. It is translated, "grace." It means a favor bestowed. It means a generous benefit freely given. It means a benevolent power that applies the goodness of God and the resources of God to our lives. It is a dynamic force. It is by grace we are saved. It is by grace we are kept. It is by grace that we are enabled. It is by grace that we are delivered. It is by grace that we will be glorified. In fact, all of God's good favors to His children are given through the means of grace.
Ephesians 2 says, "God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love in which He loved us, even when we were dead in our sins, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved, and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenlies with Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace." Every benefit given by God to us is by grace. And that grace always and only comes through Jesus Christ. John 1:14 says Jesus was full of grace. John 1:16 says that we have received from Him grace upon grace.
There is not a day goes by in your Christian experience that you are not a recipient of God's grace. It is grace that upholds your salvation. It is grace that gives you victory over temptation. It is grace that makes the word alive to you. It is grace that draws you into communion and prayer. It is grace that makes you useful for service. It is grace that enables you to function in the Spirit. It is an unlimited, accumulated grace for every need. In Acts 4:33 it says the church was experiencing an abundant grace. James says that whatever need we have, God has a greater grace. Peter says we have received the manifold, or multi-colored, or multifaceted grace of God. It is an abundant grace. It is a rich grace. It is multiplied grace. God has not skimped on grace. We have grace for salvation. We have grace for sanctification. We have grace for service. We even have grace for suffering. But nowhere is the magnificence of grace more wonderfully stated than in II Cor. 9:8. There you have the most magnanimous, comprehensive statement about grace in all of scripture. It says, "God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed."
Did you see all the superlatives in that verse? All grace abounding. That always has all sufficiency. In all things. You may have an abundance for all good deeds. That verse says there is sufficient grace for every issue of life. Grace to understand the word. Grace to apply the word. Grace to overcome temptation. Grace to overcome sin. Grace to endure suffering. Grace to endure disappointment. Grace to endure pain. Grace to obey the Lord. Grace to serve effectively. Grace for all aspects of life. No wonder Paul calls it 'surpassing' grace for it surpasses every need. It is such a great grace that Paul shouts in v.15 'Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift." Are you thankful for God's grace today? I must hasten to add that we are in dire need of all the grace there is. Job said man was born unto trouble. Life is filled with trouble, isn't it? Life is filled with one disaster after another. Everybody struggles all lifelong. We struggle to cope with problems. We struggle to be faithful. We struggle to be joyful. We struggle to live against the pressures of life that rob us of our effectiveness.
We are fallen, our flesh is corrupt, and though our souls are redeemed we live as incarcerated in a prison house of unredeemed human flesh. We are like prisoners in a fallen flesh, living in a fallen world system, in a fallen cursed universe and we face incessant trouble. But we must be thankful for grace. But the question arises, "Is there sufficient grace available to us to help us through all the troubles we face in life? That question seems to have an obvious answer. But there are people out there that say God's grace is not sufficient. They tell us to get through our problems we need to get help from psychology, psychiatry, therapy, counselors or even medications. Isn't it the ones who are trained in psychological skills and human therapy, the ones who can really solve our problems? I do acknowledge that we can benefit from those who apply the wisdom of the Bible in therapeutic services and there are times when some medications can help with biological disorders. But that does not imply that grace is not sufficient. Is the wisdom from above insufficient? Is the Lord Jesus insufficient? Is the Holy Spirit insufficient? Is the package of resources we received in salvation insufficient? Why do people no longer see divine grace as sufficient for all their needs?
When Paul said in 3:5 our sufficiency is from God, we the ignorant? Maybe he did not understand suffering. In II Cor. 12:7-10 Paul's heart is literally bleeding. His integrity has been called into question. His loyalty is being attacked. His ability to lead and make decisions is being questioned. Even his love is being doubted and denied. Paul knew about suffering. He had been ship-wreaked, flogged with whips, beaten with rods, stuffed into stocks until his muscles were taunt and cramped, and eaten foul food. But no pain was more severe to him then the difficulty of working with people who wounded you.
That is the greatest pain we will ever know, the pain that comes with relationships. People who disappoint you. People who reject you. People who fail you. People who criticize you. People who misunderstand you. People who turn on you. Is that not the deepest pain you have ever experienced? The real pain of life is not the physical, not the material, not the circumstantial life patterns, the greatest pain is relational. It is the potential people have to devastate you through unfulfilled personal relationships. No disease is as painful as rejection. No disease is as painful as a false accusation. No disease is as painful as misrepresentation, betrayal, or hatred. No arrow pierces as deeply as an ill thought word.
Being unloved, unappreciated, or untrusted hurts the heart more than any broken bone can do. And need I add that it is the people you love the most that can cause the greatest pain, can they not? That is the deepest pain life can bear. Counselor's offices are filled with people suffering from feeling unloved, misunderstood, unappreciated, rejected, not feeling wanted. And they are the very pains we have all suffered at one time or another because we were created for relationships. Paul understood that pain but he also understood the sufficiency of God's grace. What can we learn about the grace of God in dealing with relationships?
First, God wants his children humble and uses suffering to attain that goal, v.7. Four times Paul had a personal visit from the risen Lord and because of that uncommon experience, to keep him from being exalted in his own mind; it was given to him by God through a messenger of Satan. What was that thorn? The word literally means a stake. A sharpened wooden staff used to impale people. This was no tiny thorn that pricked his finger. The Greek preposition is better translated not a thorn in the flesh but thorn for the flesh. This thorn was used to penetrate his flesh because flesh has a tendency to boast and become proud. So God impaled his flesh. It was a messenger of Satan. The word messenger is used 188 times in the N.T. and every time is used to speak of a person. This is no eye disease. This is no physical ailment. This is a person. A person was abusing Paul with words. Paul says he buffeted me. The word buffet means to torment. Its root comes from the word knuckles or fist-a-cuffs. It means to deliver a blow to the face. It was used when speaking of the soldiers who punched Jesus in the face. Paul is saying God commanded Satan to dispatch this guy to punch me in the face, that is, to abuse me face to face with words that were untrue. Why? To keep me from exalting myself. To keep me humble.
People, trials have many purposes. They test the strength of our faith. They wean us from earthly things. They reveal who we really love. They teach us to count our blessings. They enable us to help others who are suffering. They produce endurance. But most of all, trials humble us and God wants his children to be humble. Go to a counselor and they will try to elevate your opinion of yourself. Go to God and he will try to deflate your opinion of yourself. Thank God for what humbles you for James said, "He gives grace to the humble."
Secondly, God is the only one to whom we can go when suffering, v.8. Did he say I went to my therapist? Did he say I attended a seminar? Did he say I read this book? No, he said concerning this I entreated God three times. In the time of his deepest need, his deepest pain, his deepest trial, he went to God. Why? Because it is God who sits on the throne of grace. Paul didn't seek a friend, he didn't seek a formula, he didn't seek a therapist, he didn't seek a technique, he didn't seek human wisdom, he went to God. The word entreated is often used for the appeals of a sick person.
So Paul goes to God and he goes three times. On three different occasions he prays to Jesus who is the source of grace. He was persistent, was he not? He believed God was the only one to whom he should go to. What was his request? That it might depart from him. A simple request. A common request when one is facing a trial. Notice, he didn't blame Satan. He didn't even blame the guy causing him this trial. He went to God because he knew God controls both demons and man. Who do you go to when facing a trial? What source do you call upon in times of deep trouble? Only God can grant the grace needed during times of trouble and thank God for grace.
Also, God alone will provide grace sufficient for a trial, v.9a. That is a perfect tense meaning He said it before. It was a standing answer to Paul's request. My grace is sufficient for you. Paul drops the request because he got the same answer three times. Notice, God did not remove the pain. God did not remove the trouble. God only increased the grace so Paul could endure it. God always gives relief but not always by removing the trial but always by giving us sufficient grace to endure and persevere. Paul wanted the stake out. God wanted it to stay. I promise you this. We will have troubles. We will have difficulties. We will have temptations. We will have pain. It is inevitable in this life and yet it is useful for our humility, it is useful for our fellowship with God because it draws us to him, and it useful for God's glory to be put on display. I mean who is always happy? Who never has trouble? God never promised to remove the pain but he does promise to give you sufficient grace to endure it with joy. Thank God for his grace.
God also perfects power out of suffering, v.9b. The deepest pain and difficulty of life produces humility and no one can be effective for God without being humble. The deepest pain of life produces communion with God and that is the sweetest experience of our Christian living. The deepest pain of life allows God to pour out grace to sustain you which puts his grace on display. But listen to this, the deepest pain of life allows God's power to work through us. The suffering that humbles us, the suffering that forces us to go to God in prayer, and the suffering that makes us cry out for grace becomes the very source of power in our lives. It is only when we lose all human ability to deal with the trials of life and we trust in the power of God's grace to sustain us that we become the channel through which his power can flow. We must learn to thank God for adversity for his grace produces a weakness through which his divine power can flow. No one is too weak but some of us think we are too strong. There may be painless dentistry but there is no such thing as painless power in the Christian life.
Power is always developed at an expense. Water power comes from the accumulated masses of water backed up by a dam and forced through turbines, which produce electricity. Steam power comes from fire which heats water till it expands and creates pressure in a cylinder. Electric power is by constriction which acts as a negative and positive current causing motion. Gasoline power is the explosion of volatile gasoline in a chamber called a cylinder where that exploded gasoline expands and pushes the cylinder head to create motion. Such it is in a Christian's life. The spiritual sphere of suffering and mental anguish creates a pressure that produces power. That is why Paul said I would rather boast about my weakness so that the power of Christ might dwell in me. He doesn't love the pain. He sees the pain as a means by which God releases his power in his life. It is only when we have lost all that we are dependent on the power of God.
Therefore Paul says in verse 10, "I am well content with prosperity, health, wealth, happiness and success." Is that what he said? No, he said, "I am content with weaknesses, insults, distresses, persecutions and difficulties. Why? When I am weak, then I am strong. God's grace is sufficient.
Thank God for His grace.
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The Rev. Dr. James Barnes is currently the pastor of White Memorial Church in Milroy.