All-Sufficient Grace – 2 Corinthians 9:8

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work."

It's hard to imagine any Christian these days who has not sung the song "Amazing Grace." The lyrics speak of the astonishing work of grace in salvation, when we are taught to fear God's righteous wrath, and then miraculously He lifts that fear from our hearts. This death-to-life transition is indeed the greatest miracle we can experience, of which natural birth itself is only a picture.

When asked to give a definition of grace, many people respond with the phrase "God's unmerited favor." It is true that none of us deserves salvation, yet out of His infinite love and at great cost to Himself, God has purchased our redemption. But we are sometimes led to believe this is the only work of God's grace. Paul understood that redemption was just the opening act in an eternal drama of outpoured power in our lives.

I love the "all" verses in scripture. God is able to make ALL grace abound, so we will have ALL sufficiency in ALL things. But notice, this speaks of His ability: "God is able." It does not mean He will give us everything just because He can. Our role is important as well.

Paul tells us that God's abundance is specifically available "for every good work." I therefore personally define grace in this manner: "Grace is whatever it takes to do whatever He calls us to do." Grace contains all the resources we need to be obedient and fruitful in God's kingdom.

So what resources are included? Well, it could be money or other supplies. It could be information, or the wisdom to make the right choice. It could be the help of a friend. It could be a series of "coincidental" circumstances. It could be something very supernatural, like a miracle of protection or a miracle of healing. Or it could simply be the strength to persevere.

One key to receiving God's grace is that the choice of what it looks like and how it comes must be left up to Him. So often when we run into complexities in our lives we immediately begin to lay out our wonderful plan for how God should solve them. But that makes us the master and Him the servant. We should rather be like Mary at the wedding in John chapter 2. "Here is the problem. The solution is up to You. We'll do whatever You tell us to do."

You see, a primary purpose of grace is the furthering of God's relationship with us. God is not troubled by our troubles. Not in the least. What concerns Him is our ignorance of His power, His goodness, and His glory. We really have little knowledge of what He can do, despite the astonishing stories in scripture and even despite His working in our own lives.

We are so often prone to disregard the divine authority and the limitless creativity of God. So we bring our problems to Him, and if He doesn't respond in a way that suits us, we take them back and begin to work on them again ourselves. Very few of us have reached a place where we understand God the way Job did: "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him" (Job 13:15).

I have also come to realize that God's grace is not something I can draw on only in the big crisis moments. It is just as available for the small details of my life. If I have a scheduling or transportation conflict, I turn it over to Him. If I am missing an ingredient for my dinner preparations, I ask Him what to do about it. If a friend unburdens her problems on me, I wait until He gives me something to say to her...or else I say nothing. In each situation, the weight goes on His shoulders, not on mine.

I especially have learned to pray for God's grace when I am facing an unpleasant situation or task. The interesting thing is that sometimes He removes the problem altogether. Sometimes, He takes away the sting. And sometimes the sting is very much there, but I find within me strength and peace even as I walk through it.

What this produces in me is a deeply tangible awareness of the presence of God in my life. In the many demonstrations of His grace, I learn of His love for me and His personal interest in every detail of my existence. In a sense, grace is the glue that binds me to God.

And day by day, as my trust in Him grows, the testimony of His reality is able to spill out of my life into the lives of those around me. This is what Jesus was talking about when He said, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).

When I am peaceful in a crisis, this allows those around me to grow more calm and God gets glory. When I can give my last dollar knowing He will supply my needs, another person is blessed and God gets glory. When I am able to love in the face of someone's anger and that anger is thereby dispelled, God gets glory. This is the essence of grace, that God is in me "to will and to do for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13) so His kingdom can move forward another small step in the life of the person next to me.

When this process takes place, life stops being overwhelming and instead becomes an adventure. As I discover God's infinite creativity in the face of complexity, it becomes easier and easier to relax in His care. Even the pains I suffer, and those I see around me, become important brush strokes in the master painting He is crafting, which one day will reveal the fullness of His glory and wisdom and love.

So I encourage you too, my friend, to draw freely on God's amazing, abounding, all-sufficient grace.