"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." (2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV)
Is God enough for you in any given situation in life? Is He sufficient for you if you prosper financially, have a happy marriage, bear healthy children, have good relationships with friends and co workers, or have a great retirement? Is He sufficient if you lose your job, have a rough marriage, have sick children, bad friendships and business relationships, or lose all your life savings and loved ones? The first question is pretty easy to answer with "of course!", but the second question isn't so easy. In fact, most people would have a mind to criticize God or complain to Him "I thought You were loving and cared for me," or "God, why are you doing/letting this happen to me?" This is the same attitude the Israelites had after Moses led them out of Egypt. They were all happy and joyful when the left their bondage, but when they found their way to the desert all they did was complain! God wasn't sufficient for them not because He Himself was lacking in anything but because they didn't have a right view of God. They thought God was supposed to do everything for them when, in all reality, it was their purpose to try to do things for God to glorify Him.
I don't know what other cultures are like, but as Americans we have been raised to believe we are entitled to anything and everything good. We are indoctrinated by the media and even the government that we deserve stuff so we can live better lives. This feeds our prideful and arrogant sin nature to the extreme, and because of all of this we act no different than the Israelites did in the wilderness. We get so offended and bent out of shape that we complain, nag, cry, and whimper to God and others when life gets tough and we don't get what we want. Why don't we rest in the sufficiency of God? Are we really that stubborn and pathetic? Truthfully, yes. Because of our sin we are that stubborn and pathetic. Those words are not powerful enough to describe our sinful condition.
God hates complaining. He hates it when we go about our business like this. He's not a suggestion box. He's our Helper, our Counselor. We are supposed to be satisfied in Him through any given situation of life. We are to come to Him with our problems so He can help us deal with and solve them, but instead we shrug Him off and choose to be self-centered instead of God-centered.
It is so important for us to have faith that God knows what He's doing in our lives. We have to have faith to know that He won't let anything happen in our lives that we can't endure with and through Him. John Piper once said, "When you can have it all, faith says, 'God is better.' When you lose it all, faith says, 'God is better.'" Don't let the trials and tribulations of this world choke out the joy of the Lord in you. Don't let the situations of this life rob from your heart enjoyment of God.
Scott Cunningham wrote, "For when I am weak Your strength is complete/ It's perfect/ Completely all I need/ Sufficient for me/ Your grace and Your peace/ It's perfect/ Completely all I need." He also wrote, "Don't give up/ For God is on our side/ Don't give up running for the prize/ Don't give up/ He'll give you strength to fight/ There's grace enough for you/ Don't give up."
Pray with me today that God will give us the strength to trust Him through every situation in life, good or bad, for the glory and enjoyment of Him with the knowledge that He is all we need.
Blessings,
Nick
