From My Journal Last Week

Posted on August 10, 2020 by Catey Stover in Freedom Fighters

Last week was one of those very challenging weeks on top of the already challenging issues related to the virus. This was what I wrote in my journal:

Hurricane hit yesterday and lost power in SML, VH, AC. Thankfully we have a generator for Raws. Sounds like it could take days to repair. Weekend groups? Next week? Lord …

Last night and this morning I really was done — ready to throw in the towel. Retire? Can’t do this any more …

Then my quiet time this morning:

My grace is sufficient for you. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

God was pleased” (1 Cor. 1:21) to take my youngest child from this world, under circumstances that caused me severe trials and pain. And as I returned home from the church cemetery, having just laid my little one’s body in the grave, I felt a compulsion to preach to my people on the meaning of trials. I found that the verse “My grace is sufficient for you” was the text of next week’s Sunday school lesson, so I chose it as my Master’s message to the congregation, as well as His message to me. Yet while trying to write the sermon, I found that in all honesty, I could not say that the words were true in my life. Therefore I knelt down and asked the Lord to make His grace sufficient for me.

While I was pleading in this way, I opened my eyes and saw this exact verse framed and hanging on the wall. My mother had given it to me a few days before, when I was still at the vacation resort where our little child had been taken from us. I had asked someone to hang it on the wall at home during my absence but had not yet noticed its words. Now as I looked up and wiped my eyes, the words met my gaze: “My grace is sufficient for you.” The word “is” was highlighted in bright green, while the words “my” and “you” were painted in yet another color.

In a moment, a message flashed straight to my soul, coming as a rebuke for having prayed such a prayer as, “Lord, make Your grace sufficient for me.” His answer was almost an audible voice that said, “How dare you ask for something that is? I cannot make My grace any more sufficient than I have already made it. Get up and believe it, and you will find it to be true in your life.” The Lord says it in the simplest way: “My grace is [not will be or may be] sufficient for you.” The words “my,” “is,” and “you” were from that moment indelibly written upon my heart. And thankfully, I have been trying to live in the reality of that truth from that day to the present time. The underlying lesson that came to me through this experience, and that I seek to convey to others, is this: Never change God’s facts into hopes or prayers but simply accept them as realities, and you will find them to be powerful as you believe them. H. W. Webb Peploe

He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater, He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added affliction He addeth His mercies, To multiplied trials His multiplied peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance, When our strength has failed ere the day is half done, When we reach the end of our hoarded resources Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision, Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing; The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.

His love has no limit, His grace has no measure, His power no boundary known unto men; For out of His infinite riches in Jesus He giveth and giveth and giveth again. Annie Johnson Flint

Reimann, Jim; Cowman, L. B. E.. Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings (pp. 299-300). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

I am very thankful that God knows exactly what we need when we need it. That’s why your daily time with God is so important. He wants to speak to you and me. He wants to remind you that He is there!

In His grip,

Bill Welte, President/CEO
America’s Keswick

 

Written by Bill Welte, President/CEO of America’s Keswick: Bill has been married to his childhood sweetheart for 40+ years and has four married kids and 12 amazing grandkids. He loves music and is an avid reader.


Think About This: “You, too, can rely on God’s faithfulness. Are you in a crisis? Hold to the promises of your Lord! He will not forget His promises to you. Look back over your Christian life and recount the many ways in which God has been faithful to His word.” – Richard Blackaby

The Daily Bible Reading: Jeremiah 41-44| You can download our 2020 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here. 

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men 1 Peter 2:15

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the doctrinal and theological views held by America’s Keswick.

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