Grace to Give?

 I've heard it said that when Paul wrote 2 Corinthians, he was possibly living through one of the most difficult times in his life. He was nearing the end of his life and was sitting out his days in prison for preaching the gospel. I love that he didn't give up or give in. He kept writing and sending letters to the various churches to encourage them.

In chapter 11, he goes through quite the list of things he'd already been through. He'd been beaten, stoned and left for dead, shipwrecked, robbed, and the list goes on. Then in chapter 12, he petitioned the Lord about one particular thorn in his flesh. Who knows what that was, I've heard lots of suggestions over the years. No matter what it was - the Lord had one answer for it. My grace is enough. Your weakness is what displays my strength.

What a thought! 

I've read and thought a lot about this passage, but I thought about it in a different way this past weekend. My thoughts were about how God promises here that His grace is just flat out enough for whatever we face. My next thought was about how we should extend that grace to one another.

Then, my thoughts went to how I probably need to give myself some grace! I have enough grace for others. I'm a pretty good encourager. But when it comes to myself, I can be my own worst critic. I can dog myself all day long over something I should have done or something I shouldn't have done! 

We have plenty of grace, since His grace is always enough. There is plenty left over, He didn't run out of grace last night, right? We have plenty of grace to give - but we should consider giving ourselves some grace too. Maybe we need to forgive ourselves for something we did or didn't do. We are quick to talk kindly to strangers, but how do we talk to ourselves? Are we as kind to ourselves as we are to others? Or are the thoughts in our head toxic? He's got grace enough for that.

Today, I will encourage myself in His grace. I will accept His grace and enjoy that he has extended it into my crazy situation. Then, I will give myself some grace and I encourage you to give yourself some grace too. We are in very difficult situations and a little grace will go a long way! Today, I will thank Him for having the grace needed for caregiving situations. I will subject all those crazy thoughts that run around in my head to His grace - and I bet they won't hold up for a second! I will thank Him for His grace to make it through today as I trust Him for one more day. Will you join me?

Check out one of my best-selling books - 31 Days in Psalm 31. It's a devotional taken from Psalm 31 (obviously!) - a time when David was hiding in a cave from Saul - even though he'd been anointed the next king. The social isolation of caregiving can certainly make it feel like we live in a cave, but God is there with us. And that's what this 31-day devotional is all about, exploring and discovering God in the caves of life. You can get the eBook from my shop at Buy Me A Coffee. Or the print and kindle versions are available in my Amazon Shop.