Day 254 Bible Readings – 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10 (ESV)

Isaiah 27-28, 2 Corinthians 12: 1-10, Psalm 133

2 Corinthians 12: 9-10 (ESV)

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Verses 9 through 10 from 2 Corinthians 12 shows God’s response to Paul when he asked him to take a thorn from him. Paul had begged God three times to take the thorn away. God’s told Paul that “my grace if sufficient for you.” Paul’s situation is something I think everyone has in their life - a “thorn” or some kind of problem that people of faith have been praying to God to take away in their life. That “thorn” can be an illness, lack of money or some kind of lack, a feeling of doubt against God, or any number of things. I have a “thorn” in my life that I have been praying about since 2018, and God has not taken the issue away.

I have read many bible commentaries on these verses, and they say the same thing that I am wresting with today. God sometimes does not remove the “thorns” in our lives, because he is trying to strengthen us and deepen our faith in his grace. Pastor David Guzik wrote on these verses that “We really don’t believe God’s grace is sufficient until we believe we are insufficient. For many of us, especially in American culture, this is a huge obstacle. We are the people who idolize the “self-made man” and want to rely on ourselves. But we can’t receive God’s strength until we know our weakness. We can’t receive the sufficiency of God’s grace until we know our own insufficiency.”

I know God is telling that me that only “God’s grace is enough for me.” I cannot rely on myself or other people; I need to only rely on God for everything in my life. This is a hard lesson for me, and I am relying on God’s grace to help me understand why knowing my own insufficiency is a good thing and not a bad thing. I know I need to rely only of God for everything in my life, and I pray to God every day to help me know that God’s grace is enough for me.

Day 253 Bible Readings – Isaiah 25: 4-5 (ESV)

Isaiah 24-26, 2 Corinthians 11: 16-33, Psalm 132

Isaiah 25: 4-5 (ESV)

“For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat; for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall, like heat in a dry place. You subdue the noise of the foreigners; as heat by the shade of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is put down.”

Verses 4 and 5 from Isaiah 25 shows the prophet Isaiah praising God for his goodness to people who pray to him in times of distress. God has been good to people who are poor, those who are needy and in distress, those who are in the season of afflictions which seems like storms in their lives. Having God on your side is like having shelter I a storm or shade from the heat. God also will bring justice to those who are against God’s people.

I like how Isaiah describes all the ways we can expect God to behave if we have in him. God is always there for us in seasons of distress and troubles in our lives. If we have faith in God, we do not have to do everything ourselves because we will always have help from God. He will not abandon us or leave us to suffer. And we can expect justice from God on those who trouble us, although that justice always happens in God’s timing and not ours. I don’t know how people without faith go through a season of trouble. They must experience a terrible type of fear and anxiety thinking they are all alone with no one to help them. But people of faith have no such fear and anxiety since they know they can rely on God to help through a season of trouble.

Day 252 Bible Readings – Psalm 131: 1-2 (ESV)

Isaiah 20-23, 2 Corinthians 11: 1-15, Psalm 131

Psalm 131: 1-2 (ESV)

“O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.”

Verses 1 and 2 from Psalm 131 spoke to me today. In this psalm David renounces not only his pride and arrogance, but his ambition. David also says he has calmed his soul and is content with God and his plan and feels like a child who had been weaned from its mother. I feel that Holy Spirit has been convicting me this past week of wanting to be recognized and praised, instead of having a humble attitude of being called to serve God. God has given me gifts, and there is a part of me that constantly wants to be recognized and praised for those gifts. I found myself fantasizing this week of being recognized for my gifts and having Holy Spirit at the same time, telling me that I was indulging in the sin of pride. God is the source of all gifts, and he gives them to us to fulfill his plans on earth. I struggled all week with my ego fighting the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, and it made for a very stressful week. My pride also made me realize I was trying to be somebody who I am not, which is a boastful and ambitious person.

When I read psalm 131, it gave me great comfort to know that David had the same struggles and I need to adopt how he calmed and quieted his soul. God is the source of everything in our lives, and if we remember that and not get caught up in pride or ambition, we will have a greater sense of peace within ourselves.

Day 251 Bible Readings – 2 Corinthians 10: 4-6 (ESV)

Isaiah 17-19, 2 Corinthians 10, Psalm 130

2 Corinthians 10: 4-6 (ESV)

“For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.”

Verses 4 through 6 from 2 Corinthians 10 shows Paul reminding the Church of Corinth that we are always in a spiritual battle, and that we always have help from God. God gives us power to destroy the strongholds in our mind, which are the thoughts and perceptions that are against God or that tell us that God is not real. God helps to us to destroy the arguments and opinions that we have, by examining them and realizing that they are false. When we give us these false thoughts and perceptions, what will be left is only those thoughts that are obedient to God. When we find these strongholds within our mind, we must discipline our minds and repent for having these thoughts. When we have repented, our obedience to God will be complete.

I know for myself that I often forget that the hardest spiritual battle in my life is the one with my own mind. I fight with my own doubts about God – doubts that he hears me, doubts that my prayers will be answered, doubts about faith that I have, doubts about everything in my life. The battle is daily, sometime hourly if I am in a particularly difficult season in my life. The only way I am able to win my spiritual battle is because I have help from the Holy Spirit. I know I cannot do it on my own. I’ve tried, but the doubts are strong and indeed like mighty fortresses that seem to rebuild themselves as soon as they are taken down. But with God’s help, I have the strength to combat my own doubts and win the daily battle with my mind.