“My Grace is Sufficient for You”

Editor’s Note: This article is written a little differently than most of our articles in that the author writes from Paul’s point of view. 

By: Lori Biesecker

My name is Paul, and my life has been full of twists and turns. Boring? No. Hair-raising? At times, to be sure.  But, always, twists and turns. After the big one, the original blinded-by-the-light-and-seeing-everything-forever-after-in-a-different-way one (Acts 9), I have been laser-focused on sharing the good news of Christ with as many people as I can. A lot of people don’t like that, which accounts for most of the twists after that day, but though the circumstances and the places in which I find myself change, I keep telling everyone that Jesus is the Son of God, the promised Messiah, and that salvation is only possible through obedient faith in Him. God has given me His Spirit to help seekers to find the truth about Jesus. My jobs are to speak and write words from that Holy Spirit to give God’s message to others, to perform signs to confirm the words, and to pass on the same gifts to believers.

As though my first encounter with Jesus wasn’t enough, fourteen years ago, I experienced a most surreal event. To this day, I’m not sure if it happened to me in reality or in a dream — it was like it happened to another person. That man, who was me — I do know that, really — was caught up into heaven, into paradise itself, and while I was there I heard things I can’t even repeat to you, things it wouldn’t be right for any man to say. I could boast about that man, the one who had such revelations, and it would be proper for me to do so. I don’t do it, however, because it might cause people to think I’m greater than I actually am, in person or in my writing. The only thing I can boast about regarding myself in my everyday life is my weaknesses, and those are real enough (2 Cor 12:1-6).  

To keep me from becoming conceited because of that astonishing experience and the extraordinary things revealed to me, an extra physical problem was given to me that causes me a lot of trouble, sent from Satan and permitted by God. I know God can take it away from me, and I begged Him three different times — pleaded with him —  to do just that (2 Cor 12:7-8). 

“My Father,” I said, “Please take this suffering out of my life. It hinders and harasses me, and I could be so much happier and do so much more for You if I didn’t have it. I rarely ask for things for myself, but I’m imploring You to change this.”

I felt sure God would grant my request, He being the One who is able to do abundantly more than we can ask or think 

(Eph 3:20), and I confidently started making plans for all the extra teaching I could do when my health problem vanished, but things did not go like I thought they should.

Instead, He told me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor 12:9).” Hmm, I had some pivoting to do in my thinking.

You know, seeing the light happens again and again when you are trusting God and walking with Him. Here is what I am learning: I have seen and heard amazing revelations, the kind that could lift me above others in their eyes and in my own, a thing Satan could use to cause great harm. God understands me better than I can ever understand myself. He understands everyone else just as well, and He understands Satan and his power, too. In His unsearchable judgments and inscrutable ways (Rom 11:33-36), as when Satan thought he’d managed to thwart Him by getting Jesus killed, God can turn the tables and use weakness as strength to bring about victory — His own victory — so that everyone can see it is no human strength at work but God’s.

God is using my life and my problems to demonstrate His power, which I suppose is reason to be glad and boast about the way He has of accomplishing things, the way in which down is up and weakness is strength. All the hard stuff — the weaknesses, the insults, the hardships, the persecutions, the calamities — I can be content with them because in them I am made strong, strong by Him and strong in Him. 

I go on, living with my Father’s “No,” trusting that many souls are protected from the harm my whole and healthy body might bring about and am believing this answer is one full of love, mercy, and kindness. My ailment still ails me, and it still makes my life harder than I wish it was. I guess it may be like this for the rest of my life, or maybe it will worsen. I don’t need to concern myself with what-ifs, however. This is a faith-walk and not a sighted one.

I go on with my limitations, trusting that what I am able to do is exactly what God wants me to do. I don’t need to fret about comparisons with others or comparisons with a younger or fitter me. It’s just not about me and my strength. When people look at me, they don’t see a super-human performing signs and wonders and mighty works. They see a weak nobody performing signs and wonders and mighty works among them with the power of Christ resting on him. They see a nobody boasting only in the area of influence God assigned to him, to reach them with the gospel (2 Cor 10:13). 

I go on living this upside-down life.  It’s funny how it all works out, and I’m seeing it does work out, even, maybe especially, the things we see as hindrances. All things — the easy and hard, the fair and unfair, the heartwarming and heartbreaking, the routine and hair-raising — all of it — work together for good for those who love God and are willing to live lives in cooperation with His purpose (Romans 8:28). It doesn’t matter if I’m speaking to dignitaries or chained in prison (Acts 16) — God uses me where I am and as I am, and when I‘m in the worst places, it often seems the best things happen. No matter how unspeakable life becomes, the One who told me unspeakable things shows me we are all conquerors, more than mere conquerors, through Him who loved us (Rom 8:35-39). His grace is sufficient, indeed.