At the end of your rope?

II Corinthians 12:9

     My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

     The years between 2005 and 2009 were the most difficult years of my life, up to this point, with 2008-2009 ranking as the worst. It was during that last, most difficult year that God became quite silent in my life. As I continued to try to walk by faith and not by sight, I longed to hear the voice of my heavenly Father. I desperately needed to hear words of encouragement and hope, but instead sat in silence day after day, in my prayer closet.

     Embarrassed to admit it now, but I questioned everything from my own salvation to the very existence of God, during that time. God’s silence has a way of revealing the truth in our own heart.

     At about mid-point in that year, I remember begging and pleading with God to say something to my troubled heart; something to calm my fears and restore hope to my hopeless situation. As I sat in desperation, a small, still voice finally spoke through the silence and said, “My grace is sufficient for you.”

     I wish I could tell you that my response was a positive one, but I would be lying if I told you that it was. Instead my response was, “That’s it! After all this time of silence, that’s all you have for me?”

     I wanted God to speak words of encouragement and deliverance; words that would promise an immediate answer to my problem. But instead, God’s words seemed to imply that I would have to continue to walk in my difficult circumstances. That was definitely not what I wanted to hear at that time. I felt that I was at the end of my rope, unable to withstand any more hurt, heartache or pain. But God saw things from a different perspective.

     It wasn’t until long after my hopeless situation ended that I realized what the rest of II Corinthians 12:9 had to say; “His power is made perfect in our weakness.”  The words “made perfect”, in the Greek means to be fulfilled, so in other words, “His power is fulfilled in our weakness.”

     For you see, my hopeless situation continued for another 6-8 months after the Lord spoke those words to me, and it wasn’t until I concentrated on the second part of that verse, that I realized why the Lord chose to speak that portion of scripture to me at that specific time in my journey. I was literally at the end of my rope and unable to withstand one more moment, and it was the Lord’s grace (which is also his power) that carried me through to the end. When my weakness forced me to relinquish all control to him, he gladly, picked me up and carried me through. I didn’t see it while I was in the midst of the fiery furnace, but once removed from it; my vision and recognition became clear.

     My strength will never be enough to sustain me; it will always be God’s grace that will see me through. His words to me during that time didn’t seem to be what I needed, but looking back, they were the perfect words at the perfect time.

     I learned a lot about his grace during that time. It proved to be something quite different than what I thought. His grace not only makes salvation available to us, but it’s also the powerful, sustaining force that carries us through this life. The sufficiency of his grace is available to you too!

     Are you at the end of your rope? Consider letting go and falling into the arms of his grace. Ask God to pick you up and carry you through. Your situation may not end immediately but one day you’ll be able to look back and realize that he sustained you through it.

Have a great day!