2 Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Paul suffered and prayed for relief. This was Christ’s answer. Think about this, that as we spoke about John 1:16 indicating that we have all received the fullness of Christ, is that not sufficient grace? We have all we need and yet we ask for what we want. I understand Paul’s plight, we all suffer the indignity of living in a body that will fail in life’s course. That which is incorruptible abides in us in the form of Jesus Christ.

Relying on sufficient grace is tricky because this grace does so much for us, in us, that we tend to think it will do all things for us. Can and will are two very different issues. Paul’s suffering glorified God even though for a time it did not appear that way. I have seen sufficient grace in a cancer patient dying from the disease while ministering to fellow sufferers not to give up hope. His hope wasn’t in the doctors nor the chemo but rather the promises of God. The real power of sufficient grace isn’t in those moments when everything is right in the world. It is when everything around you screams give up.

Job 2:9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.

Sufficient grace kept Job from surrendering to his wife’s taunts. She used the word integrity to slander Job but it might have been his integrity that held sufficient grace firmly within his soul so as not to give in while everything around him was lost.

Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

I am utterly amazed at how God’s grace is received by others through the course of our gathering together in fellowship. Whenever I receive grace at the words of another, I acknowledge God in them and the grace shown. We all need to be encouraged that God is working in us even if we do not see it ourselves. It might even be more important to hear when we ourselves do not see it.

Our weaknesses do not stop God from being God. We belong to Him. He is our Lord. He needs neither our permission nor acknowledgement to us our bodies which are His to do with as He pleases. He does just that. Speak a blessing to those who have shown grace to you. They might not know that God is using them if you withhold your experience from them.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

Paul’s use of the term “even as also ye do” is an encouragement to continue in doing that work of edification, to build up the body of Christ. Edification should not be a “one and done” effort. It is an ongoing work. Grace for grace is a continual outpouring, an endless stream of living water, that fountain of life.