Devotional 2 Corinthians 12: My Grace Is Sufficient for You Reflection on 2 Corinthians 12: how God's power is made perfect in our weaknesses and the importance of genuine repentance without lukewarmness. Topics: Devotional, New Testament.

Devotional 2 Corinthians 12: My Grace Is Sufficient for You

Today’s devotional is found in the book of 2 Corinthians, chapter 12, and this is what took place.

Synopsis: In this chapter, Paul writes in his second letter, addressed to the church of Corinth, about the following themes: how our weaknesses become strengths through the power of God, and his concerns for the Corinthians because of sins they committed but have not yet repented of.

Observations

These were my observations.

1. God’s power is made perfect in our weaknesses. When we hear this observation, it sometimes sounds strange to us. We are accustomed to hearing that God is love, justice, and everything else. So when we hear this without spiritual maturity, it confuses us. How can a God who is just and loves us allow His children to suffer injustice, deprivation, and persecution? The answer is that God does not allow this to happen because He wants bad things to occur in our lives. He allows it because all human beings were created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26). That is, we all have free will. Because of this, God respects our free will and does not stop all those who wish to do evil. For if He did, we would cease to be beings free to choose what we want to do—good or bad. Furthermore, because of our sinful nature and stubbornness, we frequently disobey God and prefer to do things according to our own will (Jeremiah 11:8 and Romans 2:5). This distances us increasingly from God and we stop hearing the Holy Spirit (Zechariah 7:11–12 and Isaiah 65:12). Therefore, God allows these things to happen in our lives so that we finally humble ourselves, cry out for His help, and surrender our lives into His hands. Normally, this only happens when we are desperate and have no other alternatives. And it is precisely in these situations where the powers of the Holy Spirit manifest and develop within us (2 Corinthians 12:9). Because we are forced to develop them.

2. Paul’s concern for the Corinthians who continue sinning without repenting. This is a concern I believe we will always have as Christians—both for ourselves and for others. For we are all sinners and continue to sin every day. However, Paul’s concern is timely, as it allows us to reflect on our true intentions. When we sin, do we truly repent of our actions? Do we do as Jesus told the woman caught in adultery—to repent of her sins and sin no more (John 8:11)? Or do we simply acknowledge that we sinned and ask for forgiveness, yet continue committing the same sins? Or worse still, do we sin and not repent at all? Regardless of our course of action, we must sincerely acknowledge our sins and repent from the heart. For only then are we behaving as faithful Christians. Because only with this conduct do we stop invoking the name of God in vain and stop being a stumbling block to others (Exodus 20:7 and Luke 17:1–2).