THE SUFFICIENCY OF GOD’S GRACE
Introduction
In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 the Apostle Paul speaks of God’s grace. In this passage Paul tells the Corinthians that God had sent to him a “messenger of Satan” to keep him humble. Paul calls this problem, whatever it may be, a “thorn in the flesh.” Paul was given many revelations by God, and in order to remind Paul that he was still just a man made of flesh and bones, God gave him this affliction to keep him humble. No one knows for sure exactly what Paul’s affliction was, but it is clear that God was using it for his own glory through the Apostle Paul.
What is amazing about Paul’s affliction is that he pleaded with God on three different occasions to take it away from him. God made it clear that He would not and told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Paul responded with thanksgiving to God -- and this in spite of his affliction. This is such a prime example of how God works in the lives of His chosen ones. He works out the difficult times to bring about His glory and our growth.
This paper is about God’s grace and how I believe it is sufficient for all of my needs. He has been so good to me, and each time I plead with Him to take away some affliction I have Paul’s example in 2 Corinthians to look to for encouragement.
My Testimony of God’s Grace
All my life I have known Jesus. I made a personal profession of faith in Jesus at the age of eight, but all my days are a witness to God’s grace. The fact that I was born into a Christian family was no accident, and I might never have come to know Christ had my parents not taken me to church and explained what it means to be a Christian. All of that was God-ordained and all that followed was too. As I grew in the teachings of the Lord I got to know myself real well, and I committed myself to Him -- to please Him. Consequently, my life as a youth in high school, in contrast to my peers growing up, was spent abstaining from all that makes a man weak and regretful. God protected me from all that Satan threw at me, and I can take no credit for that. He simply kept me from evil. By the time I was a junior in high school I had dedicated my life to full-time Christian service. It was a lonely and sometimes painful existence, but God’s grace gave me a peace that I just could not pass over.
Though I felt like ministry was my calling, I had two difficult experiences while serving as a youth minister in college. After coming out of both of those jobs not ever wanting to work in a church again God continued to show His grace even through my utter confusion as to what He wanted me to do with my life.
After graduating from college with a degree in Sociology in 1991, I could not find a job. No one wanted me and that included the young ladies. I could not find the love of my life, I was living at home, and I had a serious anger problem. This was my “thorn in the flesh.” I pleaded with God over and over to give me a job, present to me the woman of my prayers, and relieve this burning anger that existed inside of me. But He did not, but I continued on.
I enrolled in graduate school in the fall of 1992 at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. After enrolling and spending a semester at home working on a master’s degree in Psychology I got my first job. I also met a woman named Cheryl at Cypress Bible Church in Houston, Texas who eventually became my wife. We married in the summer of 1993. God was obviously continuing His work in my life at that time, and I was growing. I was growing spiritually, and was still wondering what He wanted me to do with my life. I had worked as a counselor for almost two years, and I was about to graduate with my master’s degree. My problem was that I did not want to continue counseling, and I wanted nothing to do with the field of psychology. I had never encountered more anti-God rhetoric in the classroom and at work than I had in my previous two years, but it was God’s grace that was sufficient for me. I continually called out to him in my anger to show me where to go, but He seemed to remain silent. I kept hearing what Paul heard: “My grace is sufficient...”
Following my graduation from graduate school I knew I just had the world in my hands. Who wouldn’t hire a man with a master’s degree? I found out the answer to that question over the next year and a half. No one would hire me. I sent out hundreds of resumes and had many interviews -- good interviews, but to no avail. I took a job delivering office supplies for $6.50 an hour, and still no one would hire me. I pleaded with God far more than three times to take this away from me. I knew that God could give me any job He wanted to give me, but He kept saying, “My grace is sufficient.” Thankfully my wife had a good job, and we were able to live on her salary and my meager pay. My anger came to the boiling point many times, and my marriage was getting rocky. I was so low I began to scream at God in my anger. It seemed like every time I found a new lead it was only temporary hope. Nothing panned out. I knew it then, and I admitted it then that God was really working on me to keep me humble. I felt that after graduation with a master’s degree I could do anything and make any amount of money I asked for. God had other plans for me, and it was all grace -- though it didn’t seem like that then.
God was speaking to me through all of this however. I got my calling to ministry confirmed through a long process of speaking engagements at various churches and frustration outside the church. After I decided that I had been looking for work in all the wrong places I got new life. Once again I started to look for jobs in the ministry. I knew youth ministry was not my calling, but I was determined to get on staff with a church as a teacher of the Bible. I had a handful of interviews, but as usual none of them panned out. Now I was really frustrated. I was learning more about the Bible than ever before in my own studies and at church. I loved to teach, and I got rave reviews from my peers. The pride was beginning to sneak up on me again. So God, in His grace, opened another window after closing a few more doors. It was a window I did not want to crawl through, however, because it was so humbling -- a trait God was instilling within me.
Finally, one and a half years after I graduated with a master’s degree I took a job as a truck driver, of all things. We moved to east Texas, and it was evident that God was breaking me of my selfish pride. I enrolled at a seminary that allowed me to take the entire degree program through correspondence courses. I was working hard because I knew that any church who was serious about hiring competent ministers would only consider a seminary graduate. After driving a truck for six of the longest months of my life, God provided a job for me in Dallas as a shipping supervisor with International Christian Media. It was my goal to move into the main office and become a writer for ICM. One year later, that happened, and I was a writer. In addition, I made a new friend who was a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary. He told me to quit my correspondence work and enroll at DTS because any person who is serious about ministry should attend the greatest seminary in the world.
I did enroll at DTS. I was later accepted, received the financial aid I needed, and my wife and I had a our first child. God, in His grace, was not only continually teaching me, but He was blessing my life as a result of that. I was able to work as a writer, obtain financial support from some close family and friends, and be a full-time student. Later, once our child was born, my wife was even able to stay at home to care for him. What a blessing our son Daniel has been. He is just another reminder of how faithful God is. His grace was sufficient through all those tough times leading up to our move to Dallas, and it continued on as a result of all He taught us.
God’s grace since enrolling at DTS has been tremendous. Following some financial difficulties at International Christian Media, I had to resign my position as a staff writer. Even my wife, who was also working for ICM part-time at home, had to be laid off. We were pregnant with our second child, and we had no job. We did have the monthly financial support coming from a handful of people, but not nearly enough to live on. I called to God and asked Him to take this away, but He said, “My grace is sufficient for you.” It was hard to believe, but just as before He was training me in faith and patience. Once again, I was right back in the position of looking for another job. My past experiences scared me to death, but I knew that God was right there with me.
I did get a job. I started cleaning swimming pools with Sunbelt Pool Supply Company.
I had to start paying my own health insurance -- for four people, but amazingly I was making more money in half the time I was at ICM. Furthermore, God provided the insurance we needed at less cost than ICM provided for me. I came out smelling like a rose. I even had more people who were jumping on the bandwagon to help us out with monthly financial support. My aunt went so far as to give us her gas card to fill up our cars as long as I was in school. There I was, working less hours, paying for my own insurance, taking care of two children and married to a stay-at-home wife, and I was making more money than ever before. God’s grace was not only sufficient for me, it was my driving force.
In July of 1999 I met with the pastor of my church in Houston. Along with three of my main financial supporters, we asked for an internship for me so that we could begin plans to start a church following my graduation. Now we are all working towards that goal. God has now provided us with a detailed plan for my future as a pastor -- the one position I never dared to ask God for but always wanted. In His grace God has been teaching me all along where He was to lead me. Back when I was a young boy God was guarding over me and protecting me from Satan. As a youth, God, in His grace, kept me from the things that would harm my reputation and future ministry. As a college student, God was protecting me from the attacks of loneliness and despair as well as from the atheistic teachings in the university. As a graduate student, God, in His grace, was strengthening my position in Christ as He showed me how the secular world thinks and what it thinks about God. I learned how to work with atheists, feminists, and all sorts of liberals. I was not giving in to them, but I was learning their arguments and their ways of evaluating God and Jesus Christ. As a person seeking a job, God showed me humility. As a person seeking love, God showed me patience. As a father and husband, God, in His grace, is blessing my life more and more. He is preparing me for a life of ministry -- and ministry to the fullest. He continues to protect me from Satan’s attacks. Because of God’s grace in my life I know that He is up to something. I may die tomorrow, but I will have known, at least to some extent, God’s grace beyond the death of Christ in my life.
Conclusion
King David once said, “When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; What is man, that Thou dost take thought of him? And the son of man, that Thou dost care for him?” (Psalm 8:3-4). I feel the same way about God’s work in my life. I am just a speck of dust in a very large world, but God has seen fit to show Himself to me. His grace is sufficient in times of trial, but it is more than that. God’s grace is a training ground leading us to greater understanding and fellowship with Him. He doesn’t owe me anything; I am the one who owes Him, and I will pay Him for His grace in my life with my life. To God be the glory!