What is grace? Many think that grace that we are given is the forgiveness for our sins – God's grace to deem us worthy of forgiveness. Is that it? Does the idea that we are forgiven drive us to serve him? Is it the fact that we are under the blood of Christ alone that pushes us to success? I think grace means more than that. Apostles, believers, prophets, etc. were all led by the spirit. I believe “grace” includes the gift of the Holy Spirit.
I have studied the bible for a long time. I grew up in the church. When I was twelve, my mother began to make me stand in front of her and read the King James version outloud as she followed along. Every Sunday and Wednesday. I hated it. After all, on any Sunday, by that time, I’d been through morning bible school, afternoon youth group study, and night study only to return home and stand in front of my mother to read the bible. I’m grateful for that now. It definitely helped with Shakespeare in Jr. High. The biblical knowledge I gained helped me throughout my life.
I’ve struggled a great deal over the years with tragedies, traumas, and mental illness. I’ve been through the ringer and sometimes I get tired. I get tired of trying to be strong for people that need to see that example. I get tired of trying to do things I think God wants me to do. I get tired of fighting my own mind. I just get tired of the “live to fight another day” kind of life. However, when I read, I find encouragement.
In my studies, I came across a common word, “grace,” and I thought back to my favorite verse. 2 Cor 12:9. “My grace is sufficient for you” In my youth and maybe up until yesterday, I always assumed it meant the grace of forgiveness. But, I don’t think that’s it. I think it’s what believers receive.
In Acts, there's a lot about the Spirit. The passage talks about different gifts of the spirit, different ministries – a “manifestation of the Spirit.” It is the spirit that gives us those abilities and it is the Spirit that guides us. Grace isn’t just forgiveness.
A verse that sticks out is 1 Cor 12:13.
1 Cor 12:13 NIV
For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”
Everyone, no matter who we are or where we are from, can receive the spirit and its gifts.
In 2 Tim 1:7, the Bible states that God does not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power.
2 Tim 1:7-8 NIV
“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.”
This is the Holy Spirit. He comes with the power and ability to do all things through Christ according to his will. The grace that’s given is forgiveness and sustainability. Guidance and instruction. I can feel the Holy Spirit’s tug sometimes. I’m sure others can as well. Prophets and judges would be spoken to directly by God and therein, we find good examples of God's leadership that we now get through the Spirit.
Elijah, my favorite prophet, ran from Jezebel. She intended on taking his head. He ran until he was too exhausted to go any farther and prayed for death. An angel came and fed him, let him sleep, and when he woke he was told to go to the mountain. There, he saw God. However, not in a way that we would have assumed he would have spoken to him.
Elijah waited in the cave through a great wind that broke trees, fire that burned everything around him, still he sat and waited. Then he heard whispers and went to the mouth of the cave to listen to God’s instruction. God didn’t coddle him, he didn’t even tell him it would be okay, just “go and anoint.”
I’ve recently been going through some things. It seems a common theme. What struck me about this passage is what Elijah had to go through to talk to God. First, the journey. He ran his heart out. The surrender, when he said finally, “okay, I’m ready.” And as he waited, first came a powerful wind. Then, intense earthquake. Then, a great fire. And finally, God came to him and spoke. Not with a yell or blasting trumpets. Not with a booming voice. But in whispers. In that surrendered state, we receive our marching orders. In his prayer, Elijah expressed how desperate he was – how much he tried and how much fear he held. In that frame of mind, God guided him.
Like 2 Cor 12:9, God’s grace was enough. Elijah wasn’t baptized for the forgiveness of his sins. He didn’t receive the Holy Spirit as we do after we are forgiven. I don’t remember and I can’t find Elijajh’s origin in the bible. He just appears already holding an intensity for God that could rival an angel’s. It’s like he was born with it. The spirit God gave him held the power to do incredible things in the name of the Lord. God’s grace was enough. God simply gave him his marching orders – and they were extremely difficult orders. In following Christ in the New Testament, the Apostles were spoken to through the spirit.
In our core text, Paul is pleading to God to remove a thorn from his side, given him to keep him humble. He’s prayed for relief and 2 Cor 12:9 is God’s response. Instead of crying about it, or pleading even more, he boasts in his weakness, proud that he’s suffering for serving the Lord.
2 Cor 12:9 NIV (the second part of the verse)
“...Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
I suffer sometimes and I struggle. Sometimes, I want to give up and throw in the towel. Then, I remember this verse. I remember Elijah. I remember Paul. And I tell myself to get up and do what I believe I’m meant to do. Some days, I’m more successful than others. The key is the effort. Elijah worked his hardest. Paul went through hardship after hardship. A few of the Apostles were jailed. Some were beaten. Stephen was stoned. The list goes on and on and we respect these men that went through horrendous obstacles, not because of what they accomplished, but due to their conviction. The abilities they received through the Spirit. The glory is in the struggle. Grace and the Holy Spirit make it possible to make that effort.
