God' Grace Is Sufficient for Us: He Knows Where We Are

[Rev. Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks, PsyD]

Happy New Year Everyone!

God encouraged my heart today when I got up, thorough the three events I will describe below, so I want to encourage yours.

First event:

When I first woke up, I was in so much pain (I have had an ear and sinus infections and sore throat for the last 3 or 4 weeks – been to the doctor, tried numerous types of antibiotics and used ear antibiotic drops to no avail). On top of all of that, I have been having severe back pain from an old military injury about every day and today was no different; woke up in severe pain. So I was praying that God would give me the manifestation of my healing; I know I am healed because the Word of God says so. God brought Paul and his thorn in the flesh to my mind. Remember Paul? He had a thorn in the flesh (the Bible did not tell us what it was, it just said, “Thorn in the flesh.” I believe it did not mention what kind of thorn it was because it does not matter what the thorn was, the focus was to be on what God said, “…My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness…” God want us to know, His grace is sufficient to cover whatever we go through and when we are weak, He is strong in us. Paul said he “pleaded” to God three times for Him to remove that “thorn” but God did not remove it; God did not even address it in His reply when He finally answered Paul. All God said was, “…My grace is sufficient for you, and My power is made perfect in weakness…” When God brought that to my mind, I knew that was what He was telling me, that no matter how great of pain I was in, His grace was sufficient for me, and in my weakness (because of this pain), His power is made perfect in me. I thank Him for that because sometimes we think we cannot go on because of whatever is going on but we can; all things are possible with God if we only believe – NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD!

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 says:

“7To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But 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. 10That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (www.bible.com)

Second Event:

A little later, I went on Face book and saw a post my Pastor, Gary Greer, had posted about a lady they had prayed for and God headed her; she had been told by the doctors that she had 6 months to live. The doctors said that but the Word of God said, “…by His [Jesus’] stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:5). Through Pastor’s praise report from the lady, God let me know He had not forgotten about me; as I was praising Him for healing the lady. I don’t know the lady but I thanked God anyway for healing her; His healing her encouraged me. It let me know (even more so) that God is still healing today; God is still working miracles today. That gave me hope for the full manifestation of my healing in my body. Then God let me know the enemy was using the pain in my body to distract me. Now I know not to focus on the pain in my body but to focus on God. And everytime the pain tries to come to me, I need to remember what God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”

Third Event:

A little later after that, God brought the scripture in Psalm 139:7-10 to my mind:

“7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.” (www.bible.com)

God let me know there is nowhere I can go to escape His presence and that’s a good thing to know. God is always watching over us to protect us and to comfort us. God sees everything we do, everything we go through, and He knows all about us; we cannot hide from Him.

You might not have pain in your body, but whatever it is that you need God to do in your life, He is saying the same thing to you that He told Paul and me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”

Here are key verses from Psalm 139 that express my prayer to God:

O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,"
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake,
I am still with you.
19 - 22 Skipped
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

God Bless,
Dr. Hooks