Grace is Sufficient

To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.(2 Corinthians 12:7-9)

There is speculation about what that "thorn" in Paul's flesh was, but we can agree that the Apostle's problem helped keep him humble. Paul pleaded with the Lord to have it taken away, but the Lord said, "My grace is sufficient for you..." Because the abundant grace we receive from God every single day will always be greater than all of the problems we encounter in our lives.

Self can get in the way of the flow of the grace of God, so the Lord allows problems to come into our lives in order to help keep us humble – to put us on our knees.

Psalm 23 Literary Elements

Imagery: When our imagination is activated by Psalm 23, the green pasture can form a mental image of the peaceful existence of the children of God as they are led by the Lord. The imagery, along with the understanding of Psalm 23, is comforting.

Metaphor: The green pasture represents: the grace of God because it is green, alive and plentiful; the peace of God because the sheep live in harmony – guided and protected by the Shepherd. "The Lord is my shepherd" is a clear metaphor.

Parallelism: Psalm 23 contains much parallelism:
(a) "I will fear no evil, for you are with me"
(b) "your rod and your staff, they comfort me"

Personification: The characteristics of the children of God are applied to sheep led by the shepherd through a green pasture. The sheep grazing to restore their energy; the children of God having their souls restored. The sheep rest near a silent body of water; the children of God live in peace and harmony in the presence of God.

Pride and Humility

In the account of king Nebuchadnezzar, we find the a great example of how a “haughty spirit [goes] before a fall”.(Proverbs 16:18) The Babylonian king proclaimed, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” After that, in order to fulfill the word of God: “He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.”(Daniel 4:30-33)

You can contrast pride and humility. When pride concerns self it puts man in a false position before God because it attributes the benefits of the grace of God to self. On the other hand, humility and meekness is a true position before God because it wisely acknowledges that man is nothing without God, and totally dependent on Him.

You can also consider pride and meekness as stages of a process. First, out of the abundance of his grace, God prospers a people, which can cause them to become haughty in their material splendor. The Lord then breaks their pride into pieces. They gain wisdom to become meek before God. Solomon said, “with humility comes wisdom.”(Proverbs 11:2)

Proverbs 16:18; Daniel 4:30-33; Proverbs 11:2