This podcast covers Lesson 10 of The God-Dependent Woman Bible Study.
God’s Grace Is Sufficient
Dependent living is hard.
- Paul kept that “third heaven” experience to himself all those years and refrained from boasting about that experience. Christ gave him the ability to do that.”
- God gave him an ongoing thorn in the flesh to keep him from being conceited about having this personal experience. On his knees, Paul listened to Christ say “no” to removing the thorn and give him the reason for doing so. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” So, Paul basically said, “Hooray for my weaknesses. I want Christ and His power on me more than my own. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Who can do that on their own? No one! Christ gave him the ability to do that.
- All our physical ailments are not from Satan. Most of the time they’re from living in a fallen world where sin has caused disease and destruction. A thorn is anything that drives us to God, making us weak so we have to depend on Him. The truth is that the thorn experiences make us more usable towards God’s purposes than the “third heaven” ones do. Christ not only permitted all those hardships in Paul’s life but had purpose in doing so.
- Dependent living is hard. It is refraining from boasting about spiritual experiences. It is enduring a thorn in the flesh God chooses not to heal. It is trusting God’s grace to be sufficient to handle anything in life. It is being glad about weaknesses so Christ’s power shines in you instead of your own. It is trusting Him for strength all the time, not just when you can’t do something on your own. It is spending yourself for others so they grow spiritually. It is doing everything in the sight of God, through Christ, and for the strengthening of other believers around us. It is also being humbled by God before others so they see Christ more than you. And, it is being grieved by unrepentant sin in those around you.
God’s grace is sufficient.
- When Christ said to Paul that His grace was sufficient, He used a word meaning “to be possessed of unfailing strength, to be enough.” God’s grace is His unmerited favor toward humans. It is a gift from God that we don’t deserve and can never earn.
- Salvation by faith alone through Christ alone is a gift of God’s grace.
- The Holy Spirit’s presence in every believer as a deposit guaranteeing our future inheritance of a perfected body and soul is a gift of God’s grace.
- Being transformed into the likeness of Christ during this earthly life of ours is a gift of God’s grace.
- All those wonderful treasures that come to us as new creations in Christ are gifts of God’s grace. They are enough to make us into whatever God purposes for us to be. God’s protection and deliverance from deadly peril are gifts of God’s grace.
- Every healing. Every answer to prayer. Every time we get guidance about what to do and where to do. Those are gifts of God’s grace. They are sufficient to get us through this life and have joy in the process.
- The power of Christ working in us to help us in our weakness so that we can say with Paul, “I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” That’s a gift of God’s grace.
- When you admit that you are weak, you desire Christ’s power to rest on you. That means to take possession of you, to act on your behalf. It’s a heart change when you desire more of Him and less of yourself.
- As the years passed, Paul relied more on Christ so Christ showed through him. The Holy Spirit made sure we could see that, too. Paul wanted those looking at his life to see how to follow Christ so that they would do it, too. He didn’t do everything right. Neither will we. God’s gift of grace covers our mistakes as well.
- Christ’s power made perfect in weakness is what He did on the cross for us! It’s what He wants to do in us and through us.
Jesus Christ gave His life for you, so He could give His life to you, so He could live His life through you. (Major Ian Thomas, The Saving Life of Christ)
- His grace is sufficient to save us. It is sufficient to regenerate our dead spirits so that we are spiritually alive for eternity. And, it is sufficient to live His life through us as we let Him. God transforms your life by teaching you to live dependently on Him in weakness and in strength. You learn how to do this as you act in obedience to the Word of God, depend on Jesus Christ for the power to do so, and trust Him with the results. This “dependent living” will make you stronger and more effective in life as you become a God-dependent woman.
Is depending on God acknowledging His strength?
True or False? “Depending on God isn’t a weakness … It’s acknowledging His strength. The more we depend on God the more dependable we find He is.” TRUE
This is actually a true saying. Dependent living isn’t weakness. We do acknowledge His strength when we choose to depend on Him. The more we do so, the more we personally discover how truly dependable He is and has been all along. Win/win.
Reasons why God wants us to depend on Him more than on ourselves
- To refrain from boasting about personal spiritual experiences. (12:6)
- Enduring a thorn in the flesh that God chooses not to heal. (12:7-8)
- Trusting God’s grace to be sufficient. (12:9)
- Being glad about weaknesses so Christ’s power shines. (12:9)
- Trusting Him for strength. (12:10)
- To love others so much you don't want to “use” them in any way. (12:14)
- To spend ourselves for others to grow spiritually. (12:15, 19)
- To walk by the Spirit consistently with other believers. (12:17)
- Facing sin in those we love. (12:20-21)
Let Jesus satisfy your heart with confidence that you can depend on Him. Then, live each day as a God-dependent woman!
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