And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 2 Corinthians 12:19 NASB

I have heard that grace is the power and desire to do God’s will. It has also been described as the free and unmerited favor of God. My definition of grace? The merciful kindness of God that strengthens me by virtue of HIs presence in my life coupled with the belief that, not only does God love me, He LIKES me and likes being with me. If I love being with my children as much as I do, how much more does our heavenly Father love just BEING with me?!

That kind of grace - being favored of God - gets me through storms. It gets me through self-pity. It gets me through despair. It gets me through pain. It gets me through persecution. It gets me through suffering. It gets me through sorrow. It gets me through…and that is called BREAKthrough!

When self-pity tries to rule my thoughts, God’s grace calls to me with the kind words, “Look to Me, son. Look to the needs of others. You are not God. I Am.” The simple act of focusing on God and others produces an influx of grace that empowers me to get over myself.

When my illness causes my right hand to grow too weak to use my three right-most fingers, I call upon God’s grace to get me through the song I am playing on the piano with simplicity of using the two remaining fingers. No one seems to ever notice…so why should I fret over it?

When my illness causes my voice to grow too weak to utter sound as fully and freely as I want to, His grace replaces that weakness with passion that permeates my physical frailty and communicates at greater depths than mere volume ever could.

When my medication wears off and my mind grows foggy…when I feel as if my life is suddenly in slow motion…God’s grace meets me there and gives me strength to see what He sees. What I perceive as slow motion He sees as the ability to slow time down to the point of me being able to focus on His sweet, abiding presence.

When I am mocked or scorned for the sharing of my story of redemption…when the world tries to silence me, His grace somehow becomes a shield between me and those who persecute me and I am graced with the ability to see those who would harm or silence me as He does…in need of love.

When I feel alone due to my ever-increasingly politically incorrect message of hope…when I feel abandoned by the body of Christ…when my mind becomes overwhelmed with fear, His grace and boundless love becomes an anchor for my thoughts that helps me keep my head above water.

God is kind and merciful and faithful and true and loves me…and likes being with me. That is sufficient for me. That’s grace…

Dennis Jernigan

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