“And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

What a dynamic statement by the Apostle Paul! Three times Paul prayed that God would remove his “thorn in the flesh.” Three times God said, “No.” Then God tells Paul something even better than having the thorn removed. He tells Paul, “My grace is sufficient.” The idea is that God’s grace will be enough for him each day.  Probably the lady in the grocery store meant well, but of all things, as Ernie approached the checkout line, the lady ahead of him turned and saw that he was having difficulty walking and obviously experiencing a painful situation. “Pardon me, mister,” she said, “but at my church, if you have faith enough, the Lord will heal you.” Several turned to see what was going on. Ernie replied, “Well, thank you for your concern. But I want to tell you that I have asked the Lord to take my situation away, and He has said, ‘No, My grace is sufficient.’ And by the way, there was a fella in the Bible by the name of Paul who had lots of faith, and the good Lord told him the same thing. And one more thing, I see you’re wearing glasses. Does your church deal with eyes?” She fumed a little, and folks around him grinned. Ernie told the person behind him, “I nearly got in trouble that time!”

For today: When the Lord tells you, “No. My grace is sufficient,” please understand that you are in good company.