When Paul faced the threats of Satan’s strategies, he called upon God. In Second Corinthians 12:9, God reveals a powerful principle in His answer to Paul’s
prayer: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (NKJV).
God’s grace is more than enough! The deposit of God in our hearts and the ability He has imparted to us by His grace are more than enough to overcome Satan’s
plots. God’s strength becomes effective when we recognize our own weaknesses. The essence of the Christian walk, then, is in continually accepting
what we cannot do and what Jesus Christ can do through us.
It was by the grace at work within Paul that he labored. If we who are members of the Body of Christ would grasp that one truth, our effectiveness would
increase and our fleshly ambition would die.
Hebrews 13:9 says, “For it is good that the heart be established with grace” (NKJV). We are strengthened and enabled to stand firm by the grace
that God has deposited in our hearts. His grace stabilizes us and keeps us from being shaken.
Many years ago when the Holy Spirit first began to speak to Dennis that He wanted him to write, he thought it was strange that the Lord would ask that
of him. He knew so many others who were much more qualified. He felt so inadequate in himself to communicate through books.
Yet he also knew the voice of the Holy Spirit. When he discussed the matter with me, I was confident that this was what God wanted. I never wavered, even
though I knew he felt unqualified.
As Dennis continued to seek God and remain open to His leading, he finally agreed to begin to write. He took out the notes of his studies on meditating
in God’s Word, laid them on the table along with his Bible and reference books, and began to pray.
He spent the next four days writing, six hours each day. The result was the first book we published, entitled How to Meditate God’s Word. Thousands
of copies of that book have gone into many nations of the world, bringing that simple truth to multitudes of people. It was Dennis’ decision to obey
and his labor that produced that little book; yet in reality, the book is the result of the grace God has placed within him. However, we understood
that the fulfillment of this task would never be according to our ability, but rather according to His grace—which is always more than enough.
The same principle is true for all of our lives. God is completely committed to our success, but all He has created us to be and all He desires for us
to do can be accomplished only by His grace. His callings are callings of grace; His gifts of the Holy Spirit are gifts of grace. We may feel insufficient
in ourselves to fulfill our God-given assignment, but the Bible declares the good news: We can continually grow in the grace of God and complete all
that He has called us to do!
“Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32
NIV).
