by Dona Hake
Last evening just as I pulled up to my home at the end of a long day my gas light went on, and I heard the “ding!!”. It is nearly on the “E”. I knew it was low but I did not feel like standing out in the bitter cold and pumping gas. Today I must stop and get gas for if I do not I am going find myself sitting somewhere on yet another cold, frigid day, and I am really going to be inconvenienced. Not only would there be the inconvenience but because of not doing my part, I would be wasting precious time to get done the things that need done. Sometimes we must stop and get exactly what we need for specific things if we use them to accomplish certain purposes. Today we will look at the word ~sufficient~. Sufficient defined is when something is enough to meet a need or purpose. It is the adequate amount of something. Today if I plan to go anywhere, I must put a sufficient amount of gas into the tank. I cannot put water into it or some other substance, it must be gas. You see I know that you know that it would be silly to put anything but gas in my tank, but how many times to we try to replace God’s strength and ability with our own knowledge, ability or strength?
Let us use this analogy to reflect upon our need for His grace to do specific things. If we do not look upon Him and ask for His grace, we will surely rely upon our own resources, knowledge and ability. May I suggest that as you begin your day in prayer that you can ask Him for His much needed grace to live your day. I ask the Holy Spirit to remind me to beware of doing things in my own ability. I desire with all of my heart that my strength and help is from Him and from Him alone! It is His grace that will see us through any circumstance, and He desires that we draw upon it in all that we do.
In the scriptures (2 Corinthians 12:8-10) Paul spoke of calling out to God to help him. Paul had enough of dealing with problems and he begged God that the whole issue would depart from him. God’s response…”My grace which is my favor, my lovingkindness, and my mercy are all that you need. My grace is SUFFICIENT against any danger and it enables you to bear this trouble manfully. My strength and power are made perfect and show themselves MOST effective in your weakness.”
Paul’s heart was totally toward God and he realized that all he had to do was allow God’s grace to rest upon him. One translation implies to allow God’s grace to rest as a tent pitched upon us. What an awesome way of looking at dwelling and drawing upon His wonderful grace.
Paul then said, “when I am weak in my own human strength, then I am truly strong, able and powerful in God’s strength.” Paul saw that God’s grace was all that he needed. He saw that it was sufficient. God’s grace is adequate for His purposes and it will always be more than enough. Today I encourage you to make sure that you are drawing upon His grace. In the morning and throughout the day, remind yourself to look up and draw upon His strength and ability that flows from His throneroom of His grace. May we draw upon it as we live this life.