“He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness…’” II Corinthians 12:9
We can’t compare our relationship with God to any human relationship that we’ve experienced. It’s like a marriage, but so much more. It’s like a parent/child relationship, but so much more. When we know God, we find ourselves whole, satisfied, and at rest in the binding, intertwining, and continual connection with His Person. God doesn’t want to be part of our life; God is our life.
When we experience God, we also experience God’s grace, not only for eternal life, but also for what we are to do or become or possess in this life. We were never meant to do life apart from God in our own strength. Grace describes the desire and the ability of God to share Himself with the world, including who He is, what He has, and what He can do. God knows that men and women need Him, and His love causes Him to want to meet the needs of those who will turn to Him.
Grace is only understood when a relationship with God is experienced. Only dependent, active faith experiences the supply, strength and glory of God’s grace. Living in grace is living in reliance upon God. In Judges 7 we read about the life of Gideon. Gideon did not have confidence in himself, but he did have confidence in God. Gideon would not move in his own strength, but he would go if he knew that God was the one calling and sending him. God was looking for a life He could shine through. When Gideon was to go to war against their enemy, they were already outnumbered 4 to 1. God whittled their army down so that they were 450 to 1. This is what God said: Judges 7:2 “… The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.” God wanted to be seen through Israel. God wants to be seen through you.
God’s grace will take us beyond what we can do, but what God wants to do, He wants to do together with us. The people God chooses are people who will put their faith in Him. They are people who know God’s love and love God. They are people who want God to be known for who He is.
Application: I Corinthians 1:27-28 tell us that God will choose the weak so that His strength can be seen. However strong we think we are, God is stronger. God wants to express His love and His power to us and through us so the world will know Him. Trust God to do something bigger than you.