But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

~2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV

“My grace is sufficient for you,” is a phrase that, in the past, has felt somewhat discouraging to me. 

In our culture, the word “sufficient,” usually means “meager, adequate, barely enough.” Consequently, when coming before God requesting His “sufficient grace,” I pictured myself as a beggar, pleading for the crumbs and scraps from God’s table— half expecting Him to be stingy, because, perhaps, He wasn’t quite finished chewing on that bone.

It wasn’t until while enjoying an old movie, that I watched a servant come before a king, bow, and address the king as, “Your Sufficiency.”  Something clicked.  Certainly, the servant was not declaring the king barely adequate or lacking.  On the contrary, he was declaring the king rich and the keeper of opulent abundance!  

Beloved, are you in need of sufficient grace today?  We are no longer beggars. For those who have been bought with a price, we are the King’s precious, adopted children — so dearly loved, He sacrificed His Son to make us His own.  In response to your need, our Father does not offer a begrudging, skimpy poor man’s grace.  He bids us come and feast upon lavish grace from His inexhaustible table.  

Beloved, His grace is sufficient for you!  His grace is an overflowing, unending torrent that purifies, exceeds the brim and fills every nook and cranny.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

~2 Corinthians 9:8 ESV

Share your thoughts about the sufficiency of the God we serve.

Father God, immerse me in Your grace that transforms paupers into princes, endlessly pours and always exceeds the need.  Now, may I embrace my identity, and, in turn, carry the signet and hallmark of You, my heavenly Father— the generous pouring out of grace upon others. 

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Genre: Non-fiction

Copyright 2021: A Poor Man’s Grace: Julie Souza Bradley Lilly: All Rights Reserved