2Corinthians 12:9(NLT)
“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.”
I was in my late twenties and was going through a very emotional time when this verse stopped me in my tracks. I was heartbroken after my relationship with a man that I cared for very deeply had ended. I was trying to move passed it, but the devastation was very challenging to get over. Our relationship had been through some tough times, but our unity became stronger because of them, and I thought we came through them with a greater commitment to one another. I believed he was the kind of man I wanted to build a family with. He didn’t feel the same about me, and we didn’t share the same dreams. I guess I knew this deep down, but when I allowed the reality to sink in that we were not meant to be, I was crushed emotionally. I wasn’t really thinking about God’s grace and power. I was focused on myself and getting over the emptiness and pain in my heart.
This was a period in my life where I questioned God a lot. I asked Him the questions many Christian women ask, “God, why did You let this happen to me?” My mind drifted to other questions that led to doubt and dismay. I had thoughts that distanced me from God’s grace and wisdom, because I was concentrating on my emotions. I was wallowing in the pain I felt, and for a while, I didn’t allow even a crack for anything to come in besides more thoughts of gloom and loss. I felt like the prophet, Jeremiah, when he wept over Judah’s careless and sinful actions. He said in Jeremiah 8:18(NLT), “My grief is beyond healing; my heart is broken.”
Pain leaves an indelible mark on your conscious mind, and you don’t forget it. You feel as if you’ve wasted precious time, because you’ve invested in someone that didn’t see you the same way that you saw them. God allows us the time to go through what we go through when it comes to loss and heartbreak, but there will come a time where He expects us to rally ourselves together and get on with life. The Old Testament provides us with a precedent for this. Moses had been a great leader of God’s people that lived in Old Testament times. When he died, they were extremely sorrowful. Deuteronomy 34:8(NLT) states, “The people of Israel mourned for Moses on the plains of Moab for thirty days, until the customary period of mourning was over.” God gave them a customary period to mourn their loss, but after that period was over, He told them to get on with the business of His Kingdom.
God chose a new leader for His people. In Joshua 1:2(NLT), Heavenly Father instructed Joshua, “Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them.” God wasn’t informing Joshua of new information about Moses. Joshua knew that Moses was dead. He had mourned him, but God was reminding Joshua that the past was the past, that it was now time to let that go so they could all embrace the new thing God was doing.
Emotions have their place, but we can’t allow our emotions to control our lives. God’s business comes first. So often, we are blinded by our pain, and we fear it. Not only do we fear feeling pain, but we fear that it will not end. If we let our emotions rule us in this way, we risk blocking faith out. This isn’t what God wants for us. He wants us to make a choice in spite of our pain, and to choose Him. He wants us to recognize His amazing grace so that we can open a crack in our fears for faith to come in.
God tells us that under no uncertain terms, His grace is ALL we need! This is not speculation or myth. This is truth! God said it, and it must be so! Often, we grieve without end because we have convinced ourselves that it’s not God and His grace, but the person we need. We must make a shift in our minds and hearts and get anchored in His truth. Yes, it hurts when a person leaves us or is no longer in our lives, but we must remember that our lives belong to God. He is the One who gives us what we need from day to day. A broken heart can leave you in the bed for days feeling sorry for yourself, but this is not the strength of the Lord. Psalm 28:7 declares that the strength of the Lord is our shield. He fills our hearts with joy, because He wants us to be in a place of victory, and not defeat. Never allow fear to cause you to miss God’s grace. Trust Him, because only He can restore us and bring us to new places of His goodness and mercy. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“God’s Grace Is All You Need!”, written by Kim Times, edited by Reverend Fran Mack, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2021. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.