Before the Dawn
I like to get up at about 4:00 am (when I can). There is something about getting up, making myself a large cup of Honduran coffee. I always put more sugar and creamer in it than I should, but I can sit on my sofa and spend some time in the presence of the Lord.
Two thousand years ago a bunch of women did the same thing. They got up early and prepared themselves to go and be in the presence of their Lord.
But you know the difference, right? They went to do what? They went for the purpose of COMPLETING the burial process. What do you and I get to do? We get to enter into the presence of a LIVING Lord! We get to talk to a Father, who has already been listening to an interceding Son.
Foolish Choices
Now before you consider those women, “so foolish,” after all, they didn’t remember what Jesus had told them. They didn’t expect Him to do what He said. In fact, when they saw the tomb empty, their first reaction wasn’t, “Hey, He said He’d arise and He did, surprise surprise. No! Their first reaction was, “Yo, gardener, where did you re-position the dead body that was here?”
Do you mind if I draw a parallel between them and us?
There are numerous promises that the Lord has made, that Scripture clearly states and that we just as clearly blow-off. May I be so bold? When I hear the way people plead and plead with God, about the things He has ALREADY promised, I have to tell you, they sound more like they are calling God a liar!
Sufficient What?
Let me finish with a simple and profound promise that the Lord has been reminding me of lately. In 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NASB) Paul recounts what the Lord told him, and by application, tells us too. He said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”
Now what is the problem with this half of the verse? THE NEXT HALF! Paul then gives us his application to what Jesus said. Paul says, “Well, if He’s given me sufficient grace, then of course, ‘Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.’”
And that is the problem my friend. You and I are not willing to remember AND THEN APPLY to our lives what God has already said. When we want God to deal with a difficulty in our life our attitude is. “Hey, if He doesn’t get rid of it, then clearly He has not answered my plea!
I don’t know your circumstance. Maybe you are estranged from a loved one, and yet you desire their company. Maybe you have an illness that just isn’t going away, though you ask the Lord to take it away. Maybe you have a sin and temptation that keeps harassing you, although return to the Lord often.
My friend, His grace is sufficient. Trust Him. And then watch the Lord work in your life. You truly will be able to return to His presence, boasting to Him and in Him, FOR YOUR WEAKNESS that He has dealt with by powerfully dwelling in you.
Sufficient Grace!
Just like the ladies two thousand years ago who left the garden with consternation, you and I have a tendency for looking at our problems as UNRESOLVED if they are not taken away. But what has the Lord told us, and Paul demonstrated to us? Simple, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”
And how does that promise allow me to respond? I can, you and I can respond with, “Of course, ‘Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.’”
Happy Easter My Friend,
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