God Can Handle It
Grace is Enough (Day 1) // Prayer365
“Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.” - 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 MSG
Yesterday we started a brand new series titled “The Rhythms of Grace.” I feel an overwhelming sense of God’s anointing and grace on this topic and we’re going to steward this word. We’re not going to rush it. We’re not going to mess over it. But we’re going to steward it by spending time with this word, living with this word, practicing it in our lives so that we would not just know God by concept, but in the context of our lives.
In part one of The Rhythms of Grace, we had a powerful time in sharing the message titled Grace is Enough! It stems from this conversation that Paul had with Jesus during his time in prayer (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). He described a thorn in his flesh, a handicap that brought significant discomfort. He prayed that God would remove it, but Jesus’s response was “My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.” There’s so much in this what we will unpack throughout the rest of this week. But the first thing I want you hold onto this week is this: God can handle it. That’s what I want you to start your week with! Say it aloud: “God can handle it!”
While reading or hearing this text, it has little impact unless you understand who said it. This is Jesus. The son of the Living God. The manifested Word of God, yes the sheet music of His heart. “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3). The One that carried out every task that God spoke. The same Jesus that carried the sins of the world while nailed to a cross. The same Jesus that extended forgiveness to the same creation that was forgiving him. This is the Jesus that when Paul came and asked him to remove this thorn from his flesh, relieve him of the discomfort of his handicap, Jesus’s response was the same each time: "My Grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.”
In understanding that God’s grace is enough, we realize that the God that’s saying these words hold so much truth because of who He is. If God could handle the creation of the world, He can handle anything that comes to you. We see how this applies in the first point we identified about God’s grace in yesterday’s sermon: His grace to uncover the things that are hidden in our lives.
We often feel the need to protect people from what we deem as undesirable or humiliating. A popular line in movies is “You can’t handle the truth!” So many of us have adopted this line to be true in our lives and even use it towards God. But I want to displace that half lie with an absolute truth: It’s not your job to save God from you. It’s not your place to decide for Him what He can or cannot handle. The truth is that God can handle it! He doesn’t want just a part of you, God wants all of you. That means He can handle the good you and He can handle the broken you. He can handle the blessed you, He can handle the cursed you. God can handle everything that you’re going through, His grace is enough. God can handle it! If He can handle the creation of the world, He can handle rebuilding yours. If he can handle being rejected by His own creation, He can handle your rejected heart. Whatever it is, God can handle that.
I want you to walk forward in this week, not holding back anything from Him. No longer covering up, but trusting that God can handle it. He can handle that financial situation, the suffering you’ve been experiencing both mentally and physically. He can handle that broken relationship, the abuse you suffered; no matter what it is, He can handle it! His grace is enough.
I'm praying for you and with you,
Pastor Enrique Brooks
Yesterday we started a brand new series titled “The Rhythms of Grace.” I feel an overwhelming sense of God’s anointing and grace on this topic and we’re going to steward this word. We’re not going to rush it. We’re not going to mess over it. But we’re going to steward it by spending time with this word, living with this word, practicing it in our lives so that we would not just know God by concept, but in the context of our lives.
In part one of The Rhythms of Grace, we had a powerful time in sharing the message titled Grace is Enough! It stems from this conversation that Paul had with Jesus during his time in prayer (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). He described a thorn in his flesh, a handicap that brought significant discomfort. He prayed that God would remove it, but Jesus’s response was “My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.” There’s so much in this what we will unpack throughout the rest of this week. But the first thing I want you hold onto this week is this: God can handle it. That’s what I want you to start your week with! Say it aloud: “God can handle it!”
While reading or hearing this text, it has little impact unless you understand who said it. This is Jesus. The son of the Living God. The manifested Word of God, yes the sheet music of His heart. “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3). The One that carried out every task that God spoke. The same Jesus that carried the sins of the world while nailed to a cross. The same Jesus that extended forgiveness to the same creation that was forgiving him. This is the Jesus that when Paul came and asked him to remove this thorn from his flesh, relieve him of the discomfort of his handicap, Jesus’s response was the same each time: "My Grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.”
In understanding that God’s grace is enough, we realize that the God that’s saying these words hold so much truth because of who He is. If God could handle the creation of the world, He can handle anything that comes to you. We see how this applies in the first point we identified about God’s grace in yesterday’s sermon: His grace to uncover the things that are hidden in our lives.
We often feel the need to protect people from what we deem as undesirable or humiliating. A popular line in movies is “You can’t handle the truth!” So many of us have adopted this line to be true in our lives and even use it towards God. But I want to displace that half lie with an absolute truth: It’s not your job to save God from you. It’s not your place to decide for Him what He can or cannot handle. The truth is that God can handle it! He doesn’t want just a part of you, God wants all of you. That means He can handle the good you and He can handle the broken you. He can handle the blessed you, He can handle the cursed you. God can handle everything that you’re going through, His grace is enough. God can handle it! If He can handle the creation of the world, He can handle rebuilding yours. If he can handle being rejected by His own creation, He can handle your rejected heart. Whatever it is, God can handle that.
I want you to walk forward in this week, not holding back anything from Him. No longer covering up, but trusting that God can handle it. He can handle that financial situation, the suffering you’ve been experiencing both mentally and physically. He can handle that broken relationship, the abuse you suffered; no matter what it is, He can handle it! His grace is enough.
I'm praying for you and with you,
Pastor Enrique Brooks
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