November 23rd, 2021 – Very Early Tuesday Morning
“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed…” ~2 Corinthians 9:8
This is one of the most powerful verses in Scripture for those who are in Christ Jesus; and, it comes in a section dealing with money and giving, of all things! That being said, the thrust of this verse is not us or the things of earth, but the ability, nature, and character of God. Let’s take a closer look…
A peek at the immediate surrounding context of this verse reveals an encouragement to the Corinthian church (from Paul and Sosthenes) to be generous and cheerful in their giving to some preplanned and mentioned gift. Within that encouragement, however, is a reminder and explanation of how actions reveal beliefs and how God uses faithful beliefs and actions in exponential ways. It may seem far-fetched and cultish to think that our giving is a reflection of our faith, but look at our verse within its context again. This is where it gets exciting!
God is able to make all grace abound to me and to you. ALL grace? Really? Yes, really. He is fully capable of making all grace abound toward those who trust Him and know Him through the Lord Jesus Christ. He is able to make all grace abound; and, because it is His grace, that grace is capable of enabling those who have it to ALWAYS have ALL sufficiency in EVERYTHING. ALL, ALWAYS, ALL, and EVERYTHING. Now THAT is crazy. Really and truly…it is absolutely crazy. Just think about it for one second: We can have everything we need for every situation we face for all time? There is no way that can be true, we might say, but that just shows how tiny our human perspective of the Almighty God actually is.
Listen, self (and all of you who are reading/listening to this)! God, my God and your God through the Lord Jesus Christ, is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power the works IN us. This is not a pie-in-the-sky concept or some strange mysticism; this is REALITY for those who are in Christ Jesus! We have the grace of the Almighty Creator God available to us 24/7/365 and 366!!! The same grace that Paul the apostle found to be sufficient for his every need and that Peter found to be powerful enough to carry every believer through persecution and suffering, that same grace is ours! And not so we can just squeak by! No, it is enough to not only help us in every situation, but to cause us to have an abundance for EVERY good work!
God is able to make all grace abound to us; He is able to use us for His glory and to bring others to Himself through our faithful application of His grace; and, He is able to cause thanksgiving to abound on all sides through it all. I don’t know about you, but I’m convicted; I don’t take advantage of this great grace oftentimes! I miss out on opportunities to thank the Lord because I am so focused on myself that I can’t see His great hand of faithfulness and His grace upon grace. (This makes perfect sense since pride alienates us from God – He resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.)
Oh Father! Help us! Give us humble hearts that rely on You and take advantage of Your abundant grace and mercy! Open our eyes to see just how marvelous and awesome You are and how sufficient Your grace is for our every need! We give You praise and thanksgiving! Thank You, Father!