We all have those times we might call one of the worst days in our lives. These may be when we: have done that habitual sin again, have hurt someone we really love, feel depressed, overwhelmed, stressed out, lonely, or not enough, have been let down by a friend, child, or spouse, did not get the job we wanted, have an illness, lose a loved one, ______________ (Fill in the blank.) What about you? What are some of your worst days? One of mine was the day 20 years ago when I began to realize I was losing my ability to smell, preventing me from being able to taste food accurately or at all since flavor comes from smelling.
God’s grace is especially needed on our worst days. The Apostle Paul had a string of those worst days when God would not answer his three times of prayer to remove the “thorn in the flesh.” We are told only two things about this thorn. 1. It was given to him so he would not exalt himself instead of Jesus because of the extraordinary revelations he had received from God. 2. It was caused by a messenger of Satan who was tormenting him. After his third time of prayer, take a look at what the Lord said to Paul and his response to what God said in 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10.
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. 10 So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Wow! God’s grace was sufficient for Paul and is for you and for me in our weaknesses including our worst days. However, this doesn’t mean that we will always feel great, never struggle, and never feel stress. It simply means God’s grace is right there with us in it all and often shows up best on our worst days.
Pray with me. Lord, we all need to be reminded that your grace is sufficient every day but especially on our worst days. We ask you to do the reminding, believing your grace will enable us to believe it.” Amen
P.S. One of the reasons I like the name of our ministry is that the very first word is “Grace”. Everything we offer in ministry to people is rooted in God’s all-sufficient grace. If you haven’t already, I invite you to take advantage of what is available to you to aid you in your own growth in God’s grace.
