“My grace is sufficient for you” 2 Corinthians 12:9

We live in the fitness age. For the body, we have gyms and diets. For the mind, we can choose from myriad how-to books as well as seminars about thinking positively and ridding ourselves of bad habits. The truth is we all have one, two, or more weaknesses to confront. In the Bible, we find wise counsel for how to handle these areas of our life.

If you look honestly at yourself, you can identify what you think is your weakness. It could be physical disability you were born with or developed, or it could be emotional, mental, or spiritual. Whatever it is, Paul’s words apply to you. The first thing to do is acknowledge the presence of the weakness. Secondly, it is important that you recognize the purpose of frailty. Paul says his thorn in the flesh was given to keep him from exalting himself. His weakness was preventive maintenance on the part of God, who knew that dependence kept Paul’s pride in check.

We should consider what our weakness says about us. For example, if a person struggles with dishonesty, a close analysis of his thinking might reveal that the real problem is a fear of rejection. To protect himself, he will lie his way out of threatening situations. But by giving in to his weakness, the dishonest man reacts improperly. Other wrong responses to weakness are ignoring it, denying it, or excusing it. The only right response is to remember the promise of God, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9). His words to the apostle Paul are meant as an encouragement for every believer.

Question: What is one of your weaknesses that God may actually use for His own great purposes?

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Please open your Bible and read Psalm 17

Challenges are universal. Whether we face financial difficulty, health crises, or personal trauma, we all struggle through some hardship in our lives. The believer’s first instinct should be to pray, which is certainly the right approach, but the manner in which we pray is also important.

Worship is not reserved for Sunday morning, but should come from our lips every day. Our conversations with God are often problem – focused, but many of the heroes of the Old Testament laced their requests with worship of the Almighty. David repeatedly speaks of God’s protection even as he begs for refuge from Saul’s pursuing army. We will stand up from our prayer time with renewed vigor and confidence if we spend time acknowledging God’s capability to handle our challenges, instead of merely concentrating on the trial.

Another way to tackle problems is to get others involved in praying for us. This sometimes requires courage and boldness, as we may be private people, or we might be dealing with a very personal issue. But it can be a strengthening, encouraging, and powerful experience to hear another person calling your name before God.

In addition, the Lord may use one of our prayer partners to provide a solution. The words he or she speaks in passing could contain the exact message God wants us to hear. We can be certain He will always show us a way to resolve the difficulty we face, whether through another person, His Word, or His voice in our hearts.

Question: What advice does Dr Stanley give regarding our response to challenges and adversity?

In Togo, West Africa, a team of church planters were visiting churches the small, relatively unknown country. There they found many examples of vibrant faith. This video presents one such story.

In a devotional titled “The Practice of Surrender,” pastor Rick Warren explains how surrendering ourselves to God can have far-reaching consequences not just for ourselves, but for many others as well.

Bill Bright founded Campus Crusade for Christ. Through the worldwide Crusade staff … it’s estimated that over 150 million people have come to Christ and will spend eternity in heaven. I once asked Bill, “Why did God use and bless your life so much?” He said, “When I was a young man I made a contract with God. I literally wrote it out and signed my name at the bottom. It said ‘From this day forward, I am a slave of Jesus Christ.’”

Are you still arguing and struggling with God over his right to do with your life as he pleases? Experience the freedom of surrender and begin the Holy Spirit-filled life! And feel free to contact us anytime if you have questions or concerns.

Please open your Bible and read Romans 16:1-20

“I can’t take it. I give up. I quit.” These are powerful words which, when we act on them, deeply impact others’ lives as well as our own. Let’s look at three key reasons which cause us to express these sentiments.

Satan and his fallen angels’ influence is one reason that we walk away from the Lord’s plan. Through their involvement in our goings – on, we can be tempted to stop waiting on God for solutions and instead seek a way out now. Running ahead of God is the same as declaring that His promises do not hold true. This is something the Devil wants. Discouragement is another of his tactics – he tries to redirect our focus away from hope in Jesus Christ and onto our negative emotions. His aim is to make us feel helpless and hopeless. His strategy also includes getting believers to copy the methods of the unbelieving world and ignore any future consequences of quitting.

A second reason we stop following God’s plan is the influence of our culture. Ungodly people are always ready to give believers advice. We need divine wisdom to set ourselves apart from their thinking and yet stay close enough to be able to share God’s viewpoint and message of hope with them.

Our own “natural self” – also known as “the flesh” – is the third reason we might want to bypass God’s way. Sacrifice isn’t comfortable; our natural tendency is to do what feels good and benefits us or those we love.

God declares that His grace is sufficient to keep us going through every situation. That means we need never give up. How does this apply to your life today?

Question: How does this apply to you in your work, family, finances, church, or personal spiritual growth?

About the Author: Charles Stanley

I was reunited with an old college classmate this weekend. We were both in the 1969 graduating class at Wheaton College, a Christian college in Illinois founded in 1860. He shared a humorous story with me about how a number of years ago, he got a chance to visit with Hudson T. Armerding – the man we lovingly referred to as “Hud,” who was the president of the college when we were students. Dr. Armerding confided in him that of the seventeen years that marked his presidency, we were definitely the worst class.

I have to admit; it is a distinction of which I am quite proud, because I am pretty sure what he meant by “worst.” He meant we had a high concentration of rowdy, non-conforming, troublemakers among us. In other words, we gave the administration a hard time. And though I’m sure some of it was unnecessary and non-productive, at its core there was an underlying hunger for truth among my peers at that time.

We wanted to know what was really going on in the upper echelons of power. We did not accept easy answers. We did not come to college to fill up blank notebooks with knowledge. We came with lots of questions. I can see where we would have caused administrators lots of grief, but I know a different story from some of the professors during that time. A number of them have told me they found our class to be among the best.

When students ask questions, it generally means they are hungry for answers, and that is a very good thing. It also means they might be thinking for themselves which will inevitably make for a much deeper ownership of the values and truths they are learning. Most teachers will tell you it is actually the troublemakers who will go on to make a significant impact on their culture.

Oswald Chambers has said that we don’t truly own our faith unless we have struggled over it in some form. Belief is not pure acceptance. God desires interaction and He revels in our working through the process of believing Him. He wrestled with Jacob and even let him win.

So don’t be afraid to question. Even doubt is a legitimate step in the process of faith. God welcomes the serious questioner. It means we care enough to persist in finding the answers we need. The person who is threatened by questions has much too small of an understanding of God.

Is it any surprise that the year of the “worst” class at Wheaton College was also the beginning of the greatest spiritual revival of our generation in this country? Nor has it escaped at least my notice that the latest crop of college freshmen doesn’t seem to be completely satisfied with the status quo.

Question: Do you use your questions to bring you closer to God?

About the Author: John Fischer

Hebrews 11:1 says faith is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Trusting biblical promises require faith. At salvation, we believe we are sinners under a sentence of death. But we are saved by God through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. We also understood that God adopted us as His children, and we would live with Him in heaven forever.

Since then, many of us have struggled to believe consistently that God’s promises are true. Or that they apply to us. Faith has been mixed with doubt. Sometimes, our own uneasiness about wrong choices causes us to question God’s love or forgiveness. At other times, we wonder whether our needs have been met. If prayers aren’t answered as we expect, we may ask if God cares or if He even has the power to help. And in the face of relentless temptation, we may start thinking He hasn’t provided a way out. In such instances, we’re allowing feelings and circumstances to determine our beliefs.

Uncertainty will transform to confidence in the Lord when we begin to read God’s Word daily. The Bible can be trusted because the author, God Himself, is trustworthy. As we study its pages, the Holy Spirit helps us overcome doubt and teaches us how to live victoriously.

Jesus invites us to bring our burden of doubt to Him. As Matthew 11:28 says, we can trust that He will give us rest from it.

Questions: What kind of doubt do you struggle with? How will reading God’s word strengthen your faith?

About the Author: Charles Stanley

Please open your Bible and read: Psalm 46

Is there a trial that you have been facing for a long period of time? You may wonder if you can continue. During his lifetime, Charles Spurgeon suffered many trials. Depression was just one of the “thorns” that God allowed him to endure. However, some of the richest teaching we have today from him was written and preached during times of stress and pressure. Let the following words of Spurgeon reassure you that God is truly your keeper.

“Perhaps, O tired soul, the Lord is doing this to develop thy graces. There are some of thy graces which would never have been discovered if it were not for the trials. Dost thou not know that thy faith never looks so grand in summer weather as it does in winter?

“Hope itself is like a star – not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only to be discovered in the night of adversity. Afflictions are often the black folds in which God doth set the jewels of His children?s graces, to make them shine the better … God often sends us trials that our graces may be discovered, and that we may be certified of their existence.”

When facing adversity, ask God to show you what He wants you to learn from the situation. Submission to the trial does not equal defeat. In fact, it proves to be the opposite. God uses adversity to teach us more about Himself and then to lead us on to greater blessing.

Question: What adversity have you been facing recently? Where does God fit into these struggles?

About this Author: Charles Stanley (quoting Charles Spurgeon)

Endure is a powerful sounding word. As I looked it up in the dictionary and pondered how the definition correlated to God’s love for us, a phrase leaped out at me: “without flinching.”

God’s love endures our fickleness, persists through our unbelief, remains during our rebellion, continues endlessly, and it does all that without flinching.

The steadfast love of the Lord is something that we can rely on completely. It never comes to an end.

Psalm 136 is a litany of praise for God’s mighty acts and goodness. Each of its 26 verses end with the response, “His love endures forever”

Something happens in my heart when I read that Psalm. Each time “His love endures forever” chants in my brain, it goes a little deeper. It adds layers of strength to my belief that it is true, solidifying my resolve to live in the hope and confidence that God’s love brings.

Claim this truth for yourself. Cling to it during your dark struggle. Nothing can endure longer or stronger than God’s love for you.

O God, we join with the psalmist saying, “Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever. We give thanks to Him who alone does great wonders; His love endures forever. We give thanks to the One who remembered us in our low estate; His love endures forever. We give thanks to the One who freed us from our enemies; His love endures forever. We give thanks to the One who gives food to every creature; His love endures forever. We give thanks to the God of heaven; His love endures forever”(Psalm 136:3, 4, 23 – 26).

Questions: Why do we sometimes question God’s love? What can we do to remind ourselves again that “His love endures forever”?

About the Author Suzanne Benner

What about your struggles? Is there any chance, any possibility, that you have been selected to struggle for God’s glory? Have you “been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Philippians 1:29)?

Here is a clue. Do your prayers seem to be unanswered? What you request and what you receive aren’t matching up? Don’t think God is not listening. Indeed he is. He may have higher plans.

Here is another. Are people strengthened by your struggles? A friend of mine can answer yes. His cancer was consuming more than his body; it was eating away at his faith. Unanswered petitions perplexed him. Well-meaning Christians confused him. “If you have faith,” they said, “you will be healed.”

No healing came. Just more chemo, nausea, and questions. He assumed the fault was a small faith. I suggested another answer. “It’s not about you,” I told him. “Your hospital room is a showcase for your Maker. Your faith in the face of suffering cranks up the volume of God’s song.”

Oh, that you could have seen the relief on his face. To know that he hadn’t failed God and God hadn’t failed him—this made all the difference. Seeing his sickness in the scope of God’s sovereign plan gave his condition a sense of dignity. He accepted his cancer as an assignment from heaven: a missionary to the cancer ward.

A week later I saw him again. “I reflected God,” he said, smiling through a thin face, “to the nurse, the doctors, my friends. Who knows who needed to see God, but I did my best to make him seen.”

Bingo. His cancer paraded the power of Jesus down the Main Street of his world.

God will use whatever he wants to display his glory. Heavens and stars. History and nations. People and problems.

Rather than begrudge your problem, explore it. Ponder it. And most of all, use it. Use it to the glory of God.

Through your problems and mine, may God be seen.

From It’s Not About Me
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2007), Max Lucado
Used by permission

Question: What problems are you facing that God could use redeem for His glory in the world?

About this Author: Max Lucado