Influencers Weekly Devotional

Go With ME

Embracing our Sacred Responsibility with Christ

MY Grace is Sufficient

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." Philippians 3:12 (NIV)

This past week I was entering into some very important meetings which required decisions to be made. Before making those decisions, a sense of insight and wisdom from God was needed. As has been the case for several years now, when I need to seek a special encounter with God, I packed my Bible and journal, loaded them on my motorcycle, and headed for a beautiful trout stream in the Ozarks to spend some time beside it. It was a beautiful Autumn day, so you can imagine how I enjoyed the hour long ride to my favorite spot, and how it prepared me for time with the King. After being there for a while, I was not disappointed by the words spoken to my heart by God. But I was surprised by the content. It was if I came for one reason, but the Lord had something else to say to me. What I didn't understand before going into this time was how I needed to hear His surprising message to me, and how it will shape my life going forward. I share this special time with you in hopes that it will encourage you to put a special time aside to be with God and allow Him to write your agenda when you are with Him. He has much to say to you that may very well be hidden from your current awareness. But if you will seek Him and listen to the still small voice that seeks to break through to you, He will deliver something to you that is greatly needed, and you will be glad you heard Him. This was the case for me. I was reading the scripture referenced above that day, and I was captivated by the thought that Paul carefully worded his sentence to say that he desires to "take hold" of that for which "Christ Jesus took hold" of him. My question I recorded in my journal was, “What was the ‘that’ Paul was speaking of?” The best I could determine, based on the following verses and reading it all in context, was that Paul was saying the "that" was God's purpose for his life. It made sense. Then I looked at the way Paul described it. He said he wants to "take hold" of it. Now, I've been around long enough to know that when a gift is being given to someone, we have to empty our hands so that we can take hold of it. Therefore, it made more sense to me why Paul was using these particular words, for he had already emptied himself of himself and had become a living sacrifice for God's purpose. As a result, he was motivated and ready to take hold of everything God wanted him to have. It was with these thoughts about Paul that I began to ask God what I needed to "empty" from my life, so that I could "take hold" of that He wanted me to have. It could have been many things, for I am like most men in that I enjoy too many of the world's pleasures and become distracted by them oftentimes. I don't hold myself out as having attained to any level of perfection, so I know I have a lot of things God could claim need to be removed from my life. But when I asked him what I needed to empty, I heard spoken to my heart, "You need to empty yourself of your perception of what MY sufficient grace means." Now I must give you a little background about my perception before then about God's grace being sufficient. When I read in 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 where Paul asks God three times to take away his metaphoric "thorn in the flesh," and God tells him “No” because His grace was sufficient for him, I got the idea God was telling Paul that His grace was enough to get him by. In other words, God was not into going much beyond the minimum needs. It would be much like Social Security being sufficient for getting a retiree by -- barely. That was my perception before my encounter. I knew in my heart and mind that God's grace is extravagant. But I was still hung up on the barely getting by thing. God knew I had a wrong perception, and that I needed to empty myself of my limited understanding, to be given a true understanding about His grace. He was inviting me to understand the difference. As I allowed my mind and heart to sync up with how the Spirit was leading me, He took me on a trip in my mind through many past experiences in life. I went from the child growing up in Mississippi to the young married man and father, to the seasoned businessman, and finally, to the present. I saw many challenges of all kinds: financial crises and health scares, family and career concerns, habits and hang ups, all which made me into the man I am today. I will not go into the 65 year trip my mind explored. But what I will say is that in any and all occasions, God was there with me, and His grace was sufficient for anything I had to face, and it proved to be the right dosage for the need of the moment. God had to suffer through a lot of disgusting things this man has done, of which I am ashamed. I say He had to suffer through it, for He never deserted me even though I deserted him. He saw it all and still loved me through it. If grace means "unmerited favor," then it was apparent in the way He graced me in my darkness years that this definition is true. When my memory trip was over, I was full of tears of thanksgiving because of the elaborate nature of God's grace to me. I could see times when He seemed to be silent or gave me only enough to get by, He, in fact, was giving me what I best needed. I could see that my way would have led me astray, and His way led me on the safe path. Of course, I personalize it when I say "I," but, in fact, His grace extended to my marriage and children. His elaborate, sufficient grace went way beyond my needs. He poured it on all of my life. My trip through the past showed me my perception of God's sufficient grace was anything but just being enough to get by. After this insight was downloaded to me and understood, I started to enjoy the tender moments of feeling connected with my King, while having just come off an emotional encounter with Him. It was in this moment I heard Him ask in my heart, "What did you learn about MY grace?" "Lord, I was mistaken. I thought you meant your grace was just enough to get your child through a crisis and through life, as he learns to walk by faith and dependence. It is much more than this." "This is true," He said. "But there is still more for you to understand. When I say MY grace is sufficient for anything you face in life, I am, in fact, saying that MY grace is the best Heaven has to offer. MY grace comes from MY deepest love for you, and that is why it will always be sufficient. I will always give you MY best." With that last word of encouragement, I finally emptied my old perception of His sufficient grace and took hold of the prize of the new understanding He offered to me. I will never see His sufficient grace the same? Find out what He wants you to empty, so that you can take hold of a treasure waiting for you. It will lead to a life-changing experience. Certainly, like me, all God's men need to know how truly extravagant and sufficient God's grace is, for it is the greatest assurance we can ever have to face another day. To His glory, Rocky TO DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THIS DEVOTIONAL, CLICK HERE