{"id":3953,"date":"2024-07-03T14:46:42","date_gmt":"2024-07-03T14:46:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/?p=3953"},"modified":"2024-07-03T14:48:09","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T14:48:09","slug":"sufficient-grace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/sufficient-grace\/","title":{"rendered":"Sufficient Grace"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? <\/em>2 Corinthians 11:28\u201329<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When have you used the phrase \u201cbesides everything else\u201d in a conversation about an additional task or responsibility placed on your shoulders? In Paul\u2019s second letter to the church in Corinth, he listed the numerous hardships he had endured as a missionary\u2014beatings, imprisonment, and shipwrecks, hunger, and verbal attacks. He then said, \u201cBesides everything else \u2026\u201d and mentioned his daily responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe you identify with Paul. You\u2019re juggling home and work responsibilities as you attempt to fight your way through a personal crisis\u2014health issues, an LGBTQ+ loved one, or marital strife. You may have cried out to God, \u201cHow do you expect me to handle this on top of everything else?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been in that fight, and I\u2019ve asked God that question. Feeling overwhelmed is a natural response to adversity. But God has provided a way for us to avoid the pits of despair, frustration, or self-pity and step forward with hope. We hand our heavy load to Him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what Paul said in a \u201cbesides everything else\u201d conversation with God about a physical ailment: \u201cThree times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, \u2018My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness\u2019\u201d (2 Corinthians 12:9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does \u201cpower made perfect in weakness\u201d mean? The Amplified Bible explains the phrase this way: God\u2019s power \u201cis completed and shows itself most effectively\u201d in our weakness. When we\u2019re so worn out that we can\u2019t take another step, we\u2019re much more willing to let God help us. Sometimes that\u2019s why He allows us to face \u201cbesides everything else\u201d situations\u2014so His power can be most effective in our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How many concerns, responsibilities, and hardships are you trying to juggle by yourself? Get alone with God and ask Him, as Paul did, to take some of them away. But be prepared for God to answer you with \u201cMy grace is sufficient\u201d right now. Sufficient grace means that God will give you the strength, wisdom, and answers you need to take one more step, then the next, then the next. If you keep stepping, His power will keep supplying the energy and desire to move forward.<\/p>\n

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Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? 2 Corinthians 11:28\u201329 When have you used the phrase \u201cbesides everything else\u201d in a conversation about an additional task or responsibility placed on your shoulders? In Paul\u2019s second letter to the … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/author\/livingstone_g3td4qe3\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? 2 Corinthians 11:28\u201329 When have you used the phrase \u201cbesides everything else\u201d in a conversation about an additional task or responsibility placed on your shoulders? In Paul\u2019s second letter to the…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3953"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3957,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3953\/revisions\/3957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}