10月9日

標　　題：神夠用的恩典

經　　節：祂對我說：「我的恩典夠你用的，因為我的能力是在人的軟弱上顯得完全。」所以，我更喜歡誇自己的軟弱，好叫基督的能力覆庇我。（哥林多後書十二章9節）

人類的能力是相信基督最強大的阻力。當倚靠自己的能力、機智和知識之時，我們以為自己不用靠神，就可以掌控任何處境。我們容易把問題分成兩大類：一類是需要神的幫助，另一類是我們可以自己掌控的問題。

保羅的個性相當頑固，並且擁有異常強壯的意志。當旅行到遠方傳揚基督的福音，他勇敢地面對憤怒的暴徒。他的前半生是以自己的能力事奉神。然而，當神得到他全心的專注，保羅必須學習去信賴神的能力，而不是自己的力量。

保羅深受一根刺折磨（哥林多後書十二：7）。不管這是一根甚麼樣的刺，它使保羅謙卑下來。他行過許多令人難以置信的神跡，甚至使死人復活，只是他無法挪去神給他的折磨。這個折磨使他倚靠神。世人曾經看到保羅如何靠自己的力量做事，這真使人恐懼！現在神要藉著保羅的生命，施展祂的大能。當保羅自以為很有能力的時候，他忽略去倚靠神的力量。保羅在自己的軟弱上，只好毫無保留地信任神。

如果你自覺在某方面的能力很強，要小心！妨礙你信任神的，通常是你的優點，而不是你的缺點。神會帶領你到一個極軟弱的境地，這是讓你能信任神的代價。不要輕看你的軟弱，因為它會領你信任神的大能。

God’s Sufficient Grace

And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Human strength is a strong deterrent to trusting in Christ. When we rely on our own strength, resources, and knowledge, we assume we can handle situations without help from God. We tend to divide problems into two categories: problems that we know require God’s help and problems we think we can handle on our own. Paul had a tenacious personality and an exceptionally strong will. He courageously faced angry mobs as he traveled far and wide to promote the cause of Christ. He had spent the first half of his life serving God in his own strength. However, once God gained his attention, Paul had to learn to rely on God’s strength and not his own.

Paul was afflicted with a thorn in the flesh (2 Cor. 12:7). Whatever this was, it humbled him. He had performed incredible miracles, even raising the dead, but he could not remove the affliction that God had given him, an affliction that made him depend on God. The world had seen what Paul could do in his own strength, and it was horrifying! Now God wanted to exercise His power through Paul’s life. When Paul thought he was strong, he neglected to rely upon God’s strength. Only in his weakness did Paul trust implicitly in God.

If you feel strong in an area of your life, beware! Often your strength, rather than your weakness, hinders you from trusting God. God will bring you to a point of weakness if that is what it takes to bring you to trust in Him. Do not despise your weakness, for it leads you to trust in God’s strength.