Sufficient

You’ve heard the phrase, “His grace is sufficient for you.” right?

Depending on your frame of mind, these words can be a comfort or a huge annoyance when you are going through a dark patch.

It comes from 2 Corinthians 12:9 when Paul is talking about his burdening affliction. After asking God to take his ailment away, Paul is faced with God’s answer: My grace is sufficient for you.

The word ‘sufficient,’ though defined as enough to meet the needs of a situation, has somehow come to mean it’ll do as if it isn’t ideal but it gets the job done. A reluctance has tainted our understanding of the word, confusion that leads us to believe we are just getting by with ‘sufficient.’ I believe our worldview influences this watered-down definition because it tells us that ‘enough’ is never enough. Extra is always better. Slush funds, stock piles, and rainy day savings are essential while down-to-the-dime living is a sort of scarlet letter and something to be ashamed of. In other words, sufficiency is shameful.

I think this, in turn, influences our thoughts on grace. Sufficient as it is, and ‘enough’ by definition, we live our lives outside of that sufficiency. We seem to think there has to be more to it than that, or that grace only applies to the holy.

The simple, overwhelming, amazing truth is that His grace IS sufficient. In other translations of the same Biblical passage, it says that God’s grace is all you need. In another, God’s answer to Paul is this: I am all you need.

When it comes to our relationship with God, He is all we need. When it comes to our sinful condition, our selfish nature, our mistakes and failures and regrets – He is all we need. His grace is sufficient.

While ‘sufficient’ is one word that can be used to describe grace, a thesaurus of others follow once we grasp that very sufficiency of grace. Wonderful. Astounding. Incredible. Outstanding. And yes, even amazing.

The Easter sermon I heard this past Saturday night says it better. The pastor at the church we go to in our new Alabama home town has such a clear, concise, wonderful way of speaking Truth in love. I encourage you to listen if you have a few moments. (CLICK HERE) NOTE - This link takes you to the church's media page. The Easter sermon has yet to be posted (as of Monday morning) but I'm hoping it will. Sorry for the delay. But keep checking back if you're interested. Really, really worth it!
So, in the meantime...

Or if you don’t have time to listen to a sermon, perhaps a few moments with this song will also show you what I’m trying to say.

I pray the message of Easter – of Resurrection Sunday – stays with us the whole year through. Happy Monday, Dry Ground friends!