Is God’s Grace Enough During Hardship?

Maybe things were going well for you. You had no conflicts, no crisis to speak of. Everything was smooth sailing. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a storm of some kind hits. God’s grace is enough for you through your hardship.

My Grace Is Sufficient for You

Paul had what he called a “thorn in the flesh,” which was presumably some kind of physical disability or illness. He asked the Lord three times to remove it (see 2 Corinthians 12).

God’s answer was, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV).

Sometimes the healing will come. By all means, pray for it, and pray for it more than once. Ask the Lord to touch you. Ask the Lord to heal you. But there are also times when He will say, “My grace is sufficient.” And rather than healing, He will personally be there in a unique and sufficient way.

It’s then you’ll find that God’s grace is enough.

God Is with You in Hardship

A. B. Simpson once wrote these words:

Once it was the blessing,
Now it is the Lord;
Once it was the feeling,
Now it is His Word;
Once His gift I wanted,
Now, the Giver own;
Once I sought for healing,
Now Himself alone.

God is with you right now, regardless of the storm. You may not hear an audible voice, but you may hear that “still small voice” of God’s Holy Spirit. Or He will speak to you through His Word.

Time and time again, God reminded Paul of His presence.

1. He was there when Paul was in jail in Jerusalem, as Jesus told him to “be courageous!” (see Acts 23:11).

2. It happened in 2 Timothy 4:16–17 when Paul said, “Everyone abandoned me. . . But the Lord stood with me” (NLT).

3. And it happened in Acts 27, where God was with him in the midst of a literal storm.

You can take heart in the face of danger or uncertainty because you are aware of God’s presence with you.

God’s grace remains enough for you—even when things go wrong.

When your boss says, “I’m really sorry, but I’m going to have to let you go.” Or when the doctor says, “The test results are back and I need you to come in.” Or when you get the text that says, “There’s been an accident.”

Life is going to throw you some curve balls. Tragedy will come, and you might say, “I don’t get this. Everything was tracking along until this and I don’t get this at all.” You might even ask, “Why, God?”

Just remember this: You are not alone. The Lord is standing next to you. He cares. Jesus said, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20 NKJV).

No, it won’t always be smooth sailing. But you will have a safe arrival. And one day, when we get to the other side, we will say, “This is good. This is good.”

—

Learn more about Pastor Greg Laurie

Read recent blogs