“Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT)

 

I went to college to become an engineer. Engineering appealed to me because I am a natural problem solver. I enjoy tackling a problem and finding multiple, possible solutions. Unnsolved problems and unresolved issues create stress in me. Whenever I find myself in a situation where I believe I have exhausted all possibilities, I am frustrated, anxious, and sometimes fearful.

The Apostle Paul had a problem in his life, described in 2 Corinthians 12, that seemed to have no solution. He was really troubled by it. He prayed many times about it, asking God to remove it. Each time Paul prayed about it, God responded by saying that Paul didn’t need a solution, he needed God’s grace. What is grace? The Amplified Bible version of 2 Corinthians 12:9 expands on the word grace with three key words:

 

“But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully];…” (2 Corinthians 12:9 AMP)

 

God’s favor, loving-kindness, and mercy are the ingredients of God’s grace. Rather than struggle to find an answer, solve the problem, or create a “work-around”, God is suggesting that the problem is an opportunity to experience God’s grace. Embrace the problem and experience God’s grace. Embrace the problem and be infused with God’s favor, lovingkindness, and mercy. Instead of frustration, stress, anxiety, and fear over a situation with no possible solutions, be open to receive God’s favor, loving-kindness, and mercy. Rest in God’s grace. That’s all we need.

 

“I do not at all understand the mysteries of grace–only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us.” Anne Lamott

 

(My sister made this photograph of one my amaryllis plants in January 2012.)