“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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” -2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)
These words from Paul the Apostle were written to the struggling church at Corinth, one he loved dearly but that church had questioned Paul’s “authenticity” as a missionary and leader because he had suffered so many hardships. Did not God take care of those who loved Him? Why, then, had Paul suffered, and was he really a “true apostle” of the Lord Jesus Christ? If so, why then had he endured near-death, shipwreck, beatings, and why would he suffer eventual imprisonment (after this letter to the Corinthian Church was written)? Paul wanted the Corinthian Christians to know assuredly that being a Christian did not guarantee that one would escape suffering and persecution. But through it all, the Christian can find strength to be faithful to the Lord and keep working as a servant in the church, leading others to know the“grace of God that passes all understanding.” I like one of my friend’s explanation of God’s grace, using the letters in the word: “GRACE: God’s (gift of) Redemption At Christ’s Expense.”
Compare Paul’s sufferings with this statement of suffering from “The Greatest Preacher in the English-speaking World”—Dr. John Henry Jowettt (1863-1923), who served churches both in England and America, and back in England again: “You seem to imagine that I have no ups and downs, but just a level and lofty stretch of spiritual attainment with unbroken joy and equanimity. By no means! I am often perfectly wretched and everything appears most murky.” (quoted from The Wiersbe Bible Commentary. NT. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook Publishers. 2007, p. 502).
Think of Christians, even in our present day, who are undergoing severe persecution for their faith and are either being killed on sight or placed into terrible prisons because they will not stop preaching when that is what God has set them apart to do. There is a growing unrest and severe treatment of Christian believers going on in many places in the world today. Even in America, a nation founded on principles of liberty and as a place to worship God freely without persecution, today there is a strong and growing anti-Christian movement. On National Day of Prayer, May 3, 2018, President Donald Trump pledged to launch and support a “Christian Initiative” in America. Pray earnestly that Christians in America will turn again to God’s grace for help in our time of grave trouble and unrest.
“In Times Like These,” goes the gospel song, with words and music written by Ruth Caye Jones in 1944 when the world (and the USA) was in the midst of World War II. Barry Pickens (location/state unknown) wrote on the “Google” listing of the hymn: “No matter what you may be going through, the answer to all life’s problems is to grip the Solid Rock, Jesus.” May we pray daily for His grace to overcome, as Paul said of his problem, “the thorn in the flesh,” whatever our difficulties might be. “In times like these I have a Savior,/In times like these I have an anchor/I’m very sure, I’m very sure/My anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!/This Rock is Jesus, Yes, He’s the One;/This Rock is Jesus, The only One!/I’m very sure, I’m very sure/My anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!” - Ethelene Dyer Jones. May 27, 2018.
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