Written by: Mikaela Aiken, (aka my daughter-in-love)
Have you ever been in a situation where you asked God, why is this happening to me? What did I do to deserve this? God, where are you in this?
I have found myself asking variations of this question many times in my life. I asked it when I was uprooted from my hometown in Virginia to move to Florida. I asked it again just a few weeks later when suddenly my parents were in the middle of a divorce. I asked it when I found myself in a toxic work environment. I asked it when I thought my relationship was on the verge of falling apart. I asked it when I was trying to pursue my calling of worship and continually met obstacles that made me question God’s calling on my life. I asked it when the church that I loved became a place that I dreaded. I asked it when my mental health reached the lowest point it ever had, and I struggled through a season of depression.
Each time I have been in a situation where I found myself asking God why this was happening to me, He’s brought me back to the same passage of scripture, to teach me the same lessons through a different lens. This passage is 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, and in it, Paul lays out a great guide for us to follow when we find ourselves asking “why.”
The first thing Paul shows us in this passage is that we must submit our self-righteousness. We first must recognize God’s love for us in not allowing exalting ourselves (v 7).
Matthew Henry says, “If God loves us, he will keep us from being exalted above measure; and spiritual burdens are ordered to cure spiritual pride.”
I think that often as believers, we tend to look at all we are doing for God or for the Kingdom (attending church, serving on a team, being part of a small group, etc.). When we look at all we’re doing for God, it creates this self-righteousness in us that comes out when we experience hurt or pain, or challenging situations in our lives.
It becomes easy for us to feel that what we’re going through is unfair because of all we’ve been doing for God. But that’s not the gospel! That’s not the gospel we need or want. Because if our salvation relies on us, on what we can do, we will always fail.
Isaiah 64:6 says, “all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind, our sins sweep us away.”
We would become slaves to our own self-righteousness if not for the grace of God who humbles us. So, when we find ourselves in situations where our tendency is to feel self-righteous, we must bring ourselves back to the gospel and recognize that it has never been about us.
Secondly, Paul shows us that we should pursue in prayer. Paul is fervent in prayer until God answers him (v 8-9). It’s important to remember that the answer we receive from God is not always what we hope for; sometimes God grants in wrath and denies in love.
As we begin to pray His will over our circumstances, our hearts and desires begin to align with His. As we begin to pray and surrender our circumstances over to Him, it shifts our perspective away from the problem onto the provider.
Finally, Paul shows us that when we surrender to Christ, we are able to marvel at the magnification of His glory and grace. His grace is manifested and magnified through our weakness (v 9-10). Because we trust in His sufficiency, alone, we are able to find peace and even joy in our weakness and trials.
James 1:2-4 says, “count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
When we face situations that cause us to wonder why we’re going through this, we can take heart in the knowledge that nothing comes as a surprise to God, and He is sufficient to supply our every need.
One of the ways He displayed this for us is through His death on the cross. His death was the sufficient payment for our sin, for the debt we could never pay.
If you are exhausted trying to survive life on your own sufficiency, I want to invite you to submit that to Him today. To put your faith and trust in Him. He loves you, and He desires to be in a relationship with Him where He is the provider of your needs, where His grace is sufficient to sustain.
*Sometimes pennies in your path comes in the form of God’s written Word.
*You can also watch this conversation between Mikaela and myself on my YouTube channel. 🙂
To listen to the interview with Mikaela and her husband, Hayden, about anxiety and releasing control click here.Â
You can find Mikaela Aiken on Instagram @mikaela_aikenÂ
P.S.
Question: Are you relying on your sufficiency or God’s sufficiency?Â
Growing Deeper-
One Simple Action Step:
Go before God in prayer and by your will submit to Him your _________ that is holding you back from trusting Him fully.Â
Scripture Plunge: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, James 1:1-4, 100 scriptures on “God is my sufficiency” from OpenBible.info
Do you need prayer? Contact Jodi by clicking here. Or email Jodi at email@JodiAiken.com.
View this message on my YouTube channel by clicking here.
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