You don’t want this elephant as a pet …

There’s an enormous elephant in the lives of many, many Christians.

Uh … an elephant?

Well, not quite.

The phrase refers to a mammoth-sized issue or question, and there certainly are a few that Christians face. Let’s raise just one:

The rapid-fire rote response usually is, “Yes, of course …” The problem is, the next word in that sentence is often “but.”

“… but you don’t understand what I’m facing …”

“… but you don’t understand what I’ve been through …”

“… but you don’t understand how I’ve been treated …”

“… but you don’t understand what I’ve lost …”

“… but you don’t understand the pain I’m suffering …”

The “but” links the faux answer to the excuse used for responding poorly to the grace God has provided. We say His grace is sufficient, but often when God limits His action (or to be more precise, His provision) in our lives to supplying grace to endure, we pitch fits. We seek relief from other sources. We act the drama queen.

Because for too many, God’s grace isn’t sufficient. At least, it doesn’t meet what they really want from God, and their poor response is a means of holding out for more. They want the same kind of response to their physical needs that God has provided for their spiritual needs.

Just look at how God has responded to our spiritual needs …

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding,” Ephesians 1:3-8.

“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure,” 1 Corinthians 10:13.

We love the blessings, but we hate the endurance! We want immediate relief, complete deliverance, full provision, instant comfort. We don’t want to have to endure.

And in that mindset, we miss the simple reality that having to endure is often the blessing.

For the Apostle Paul, having to endure not only kept him humble but helped him maintain a reliance on God …

” … So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan
to torment me and keep me from becoming proud,” 2 Corinthians 12:7b.

Paul begged God to remove the thorn. God responded by giving Paul the grace to endure the thorn. The thorn didn’t harm Paul, it refined him …

“Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 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. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong,” 2 Corinthians 12:8-10.

Paul was at his best in his weakness.

Are you?

Is the grace of God really sufficient for you?

Scotty