His Grace Is Sufficient

The enemies of Israel had once more beaten them down very low when God began to call Gideon to be His agent of change. Gideon’s faith was tentative at best and required some encouragement, but he was willing to do as he was asked to do. He was willing to represent God’s will to the people of Israel who had fallen away from serving God. When he blew the trumpet to call the people to arms, 32,000 men came up to fight! This was not a bad army with which to face the Midianites. God thought otherwise. He told Gideon he had too many men to deliver Israel – He didn’t want them thinking that they had saved themselves. So, Gideon culled out 22,000 of the number by suggesting that anyone who was fearful and afraid could return to their home. This left only 10,000. God considered that this was still too many men and suggested a way of separating out the men that He wanted to remain. After testing them by the river’s edge, there were only 300 warriors left to face the host of the Midianites, which were “as the sand of the sea for multitude”.

This story reminds me of a time when the apostle Paul was struggling with a weakness in his flesh that would not be healed, and he asked God three times to remove it from him. The Lord simply said, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” His response was that he would gladly “glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me”. Like Paul, I am often troubled by my own weakness, but the Lord reminds me that His grace is sufficient to meet any need in my life and to deliver me from any temptation. Just like Gideon, He allows me to be reduced to my weakness to remind me that it is He who saves me and not myself.

Are you being reduced to weakness by circumstances in your life that you can’t control? Do you feel helpless or hopeless over a situation near to you? Do you know that God is setting the stage for a mighty deliverance in your life? It’s in your weakness that He is made strong. As long as you are able to handle the circumstances of your life by yourself, you have no need for God’s help; and He is not glorified. When, however, you are brought to the place where you can’t help yourself, that’s when the power of Christ rests on you because you must turn to Him for your salvation!

We as humans hate to be reduced to weakness. We want to be self-reliant; but then we have the tendency to vaunt ourselves, and we forget that we need a Savior. Salvation is not just a one-time experience at an altar, but rather a life-long process of learning to rely on Jesus Christ. Are you learning to decrease so that He can increase? Are you learning to become weak so that He can become strong in your life? Are you learning that His grace is sufficient for every need you will ever have? Don’t be discouraged by what’s happening around you. Look to the Lord to fill you with His grace and strength.

“And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.”

– Judges 7:2

“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

- 2 Corinthians 12:9

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