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Pastor's Page
The
Bridge Has To Be Connected At Both Ends
2 Corinthians 12:7-9
7. And lest I should be exalted above measure through
the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh,
the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
8. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it
might depart from me.
9. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for
thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I
rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
I recently read an article from The
Daily Mail of London, England. The headline was “It’s a bridge too
short”. A walkway bridge had been pre-constructed and when it was hoisted
into place to bridge the 120 ft gap, it was too short. Architects
scrambled back to their drawing boards, traffic was snarled as the bridge had
to be left lying in the street. The bridge was not connected at both
ends. A bridge too short is not a bridge but a dead end.
I would like to draw an analogy
between physical bridges and the sufficient grace of God! God’s Grace is
sufficient to bridge the gap between where we are to where his will is.
But the bridge of his grace has to be connected on both ends. The
Saving Grace of God bridges the great divide between man and God. It
allows forgiveness instead of death for sin that separates us from God.
The Grace of God that Paul referred to in 2 Corinthians 12:9 bridges the divide
between man’s finite ability and God’s infinite will and plan for man.
“My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
God was telling Paul, “My grace is
as much as is needed for you. Whatever you can’t overcome, My grace
can. Whatever you can’t do, My grace can. What seems like a
roadblock to you, My grace is able to go over it. No matter how wide the
divide between what you can do and what I have called you to do, My Grace is
Sufficient to bridge it.”
The word “sufficient” is defined as
“being as much as is needed”. If God’s Grace is as much as needed, then
it is connected to the other end. God does not just see things from “A”
to “Z” for he is omni-present (present in all places at the same time), as well
as omniscient (all knowing). He sees “A” and “Z” at the same time.
So the only unknown factor in this equation is how will you respond to His
sufficiency.
After stating the fact
that His grace was sufficient, God gave Paul the formula. “For my
strength is made perfect in weakness.” God was telling Paul, My grace is as much as is needed for you. Will you be so
strong that God’s grace cannot connect you to what you need? Will your
determination to stay in control of your situation rob you of the “way of
escape” God has promised?
According to His word, God has
always expected more out of mankind than man thought he was able to do.
He gave Adam and Eve tremendous freedom and opportunity but somehow the
responsibility of their situation slipped through their grasp and they fell in
sin. Each dispensation God has dealt with man differently, but he always
gave man choices. After the flood, man began to unite and God had to
confuse them less their unity make them so self sufficient they would not turn
to him.
Each time a dispensation ended, he
was making a point to man. You need ME!! You can’t do it
without me!! He wrapped himself in flesh and became like us. He
performed great miracles and then had the audacity to say in John 14:12
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do
shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go
unto my Father.”
Greater Works? Lord, we’re
just humans. We’re just common creation with finite minds and even more
finite inabilities. Jesus was saying, I’m expecting more out of you than
I have done here. The word of God is life. When Jesus spoke those
words he was creating a bridge with his words. He was connecting the
bridge of His sufficiency to the “greater works” and all man had to do was
connect to that bridge with his faith. He was connecting greater works to
us by His sufficiency. Another words, greater works are at the end of the
bridge called grace and it’s up to us to BELIEVE.
Apply this to yourself. Each of us
has a call to serve Him. Each of us has a desire to serve God in some
capacity. Our carnal mind cannot see past our limitations. We see
what we can’t do but God sees what He can do through us! In order for us
to access His promises, the bridge has to be connected at both ends! If
we trust him we will be able to do “greater works” because HIS SUFFICIENT GRACE
IS PART OF THE GREATER WORKS!!
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