“My grace is sufficient; my grace is sufficient; my grace is
sufficient.” (2 Cor. 12:9)
“My grace is sufficient for you, my power made perfect in [your]
weakness.” Therefore [you will] boast all the more gladly of [your] weakness,
so that the power of Christ may rest upon [you] (2 Cor. 12:9). Remember
that no temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. [I] am
faithful, and [I] will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the
temptation [I] will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to
endure it (1 Cor. 10:13). [You] were
buried with [Christ Jesus] by baptism into death, in order that, just as [He]
was raised from the dead by [my glory], [you] too might walk in newness of life
(Rom. 6:4). So now present your
members [to Me] as slaves of righteousness leading to [your] sanctification (Rom. 6:19). Remember, there is therefore now no condemnation for [you] in [My
Son] (Rom. 8:1). [You, being now] led
by [My] Spirit, are [My child]; you have received the Spirit of adoption as [a child]; [My heir] and fellow [heir] with Christ, provided you suffer with Him in
order that [you] may also be glorified with Him (Rom. 8:14-15,17).
Remember that the sufferings
of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be
revealed to [you] (Rom. 8:18). It has
been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in
Him but also suffer for His sake (Phil.
1:29). [In this I put My] treasure in [a] jar of clay, [like you!] to show
that the surpassing power belongs to [me] and not to [you]. So, [you] are
afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to
despair; persecuted, but not forsaken, struck down, but not destroyed;
always carrying in [your] body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus
may also be manifested in [your] body (2
Cor. 4:7-10). Indeed, you may feel so utterly burdened beyond [your]
strength that [you] despair of life itself, [feeling] that [you have] received
the sentence of death, but that [is] to make [you] rely not on [yourself] but
on [Me], who raises the dead (2 Cor. 1:10).
Remember, do not lose heart, for
this light momentary affliction is preparing for [you] an eternal weight of
glory beyond all comparison (2 Cor. 16,17).
I am the LORD your God (Ex. 20:2).
Remember, where were you when I laid
the foundations of the earth? [Did you] shut in the sea with doors, [or]
command the morning since your days began? Have you entered into the springs of
the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep? Have you entered the
storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail (Job 38:4,8,12,11)? [I am] in heaven and
you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few (Eccl. 5:2). [Do not] think of [yourself] more highly than [you]
ought to think, but think with sober judgment, according to the measure of
faith that [I have] assigned (Rom. 12:3).
In humility count others more significant than [yourself], having this mind
which is yours in [My Son] Christ Jesus, who humbled himself by becoming obedient to the
point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore [I have] highly exalted Him
and bestowed on Him the name that is above every other name (Phil. 2:3,5,8-9). Remember, [I] oppose the proud but give grace to the humble. Humble
yourself, therefore, under [my] mighty hand so that at the proper time [I] may
exalt you, casting all your anxieties upon [me], because [I] care for you (1 Pet. 5:5-7). Remember, if anyone would be first, he must be last of all and
servant of all (Mark 9:35), and
whoever humbles himself like [a] child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven
(Matt. 18:4).
Remember, [Jesus] is the
vine; [you] are the branch. Whoever abides in [Him] and [He] in him, he it is
that bears much fruit, for apart from [Him] you can do nothing. And it is by
this that [I] am glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be [My
Son’s] disciple (John 15:5,8). Yes,
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, but remember that it is [I] who works in you, both to will and to work
for [My] good pleasure (Phil. 2:12b,13).
Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh, and remember that it is for freedom that
Christ has set [you] free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to the
yoke of slavery (Gal. 5:16,1). Give
no opportunity to the devil and make no provision for the flesh, but rather put
on the Lord Jesus Christ and the whole armor [I provide], that you may be able
to stand against the schemes of the devil (Eph.
4:27, Rom. 13:14, Eph. 6:11). Lay aside every weight, and sin which clings
so closely, and run with endurance the race that is set before [you], looking
to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of [your] faith, who for the joy set
before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at [My] right
hand (Heb. 12:1-2). Remember, [even as I] began a good work
in you, [I] will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6).
Above all remember, that I
am with you always, to the end of the age (Matt.
28:20).
Love,
Your Heavenly Father
(A Note of Explanation: This is a letter drafted in the fall of 2013 for the "Spiritual Formation" process at DTS, essentially a discipleship group of students that walk together through four semesters of curriculum, examining together our identity in Christ, our place in community, the ways that sin impacts our lives, and how God is shaping us for future service to Him.
In the third semester we take a look at sin in our lives, including how it comes up, common temptations and failures we face, and the truth of God that counters the lies and enticements of sin. Typically this is done in a format mirroring C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters, where we write a letter as though we are guiding a lesser demon on how to tempt ourselves, and then a follow-on letter rejecting our tempter. Finding it incredibly difficult to make the shift in mindset that is displayed in TSL, instead of writing a response to my tempter I wrote as though it were God's letter to me, in the form of Scripture pulled together from across the Bible.
Over the years I have seen that in the face of adversity I very much have the temptation and tendency to despair, to listen to the lies that all is hopeless and lost and no good will come, and the best counter to that is the truth of the Word of God. Thus at the heart of the letter from God to me is the reminder that He is God, He is sufficient, there is nothing that can be faced that is bigger than Him, and He is faithful and trustworthy to the very end, therefore there is no grounds or justification for despair. This same truth in the face of any other sin also serves as a bedrock on which one can stand, knowing that compared to anything this world can offer Jesus is better.
If you are a follower of Christ, a believer in Jesus who has trusted Him for salvation, my hope is that you too would be reminded of His goodness and faithfulness, that you would remember, and that you would rest, rejoice, and stand firm in all that God is to us in and through Christ by His Spirit.)
