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.