Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 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 about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

2 Corinthians 12:8‭-‬9 NIV

When, like Paul, we reach out to God concerning a thorny situation in our lives, hoping to have the Lord take out the thorn, hardly do we expect to hear the words: “My grace is sufficient for thee.”

We want liberation, and sweet relief. We want external transformation and comfortable conditions. But every single time, God is focused on our hearts. He wants to mold us to become like Him. He wants, through our trials, to shape our hearts and reveal His grace, by what we endure to reveal His wisdom. So he utters those words: “My grace is sufficient for thee.”

Not only does He mold our character as we persevere; not only does He reveal His power as His grace sets to work in us, He also reveals His wisdom as He works for our good through the most unlikely situations. He reveals a higher purpose in our pains and sufferings. He helps us to endure the process, always reminding us: “My grace is sufficient for thee.”

And as we follow, daily trusting in His grace, our hearts are transformed. Our eyes are opened, and we see the world as He sees it, suffering and dying in its sins. We join hands with Him, to draw souls out of darkness, and bring them to the light. Our suffering matters less, His glory matters more. His voice persists: “My grace is sufficient for thee.”

And we tune our hearts like Jesus, to the will of the Father, crying “Not my will, but thine be done”, all because we received grace by heeding to those words: “My grace is sufficient for thee.”