Monday’s 333 Devotional: “There’s Something Greater”

I can’t explain why some believers suffer more than others. What I do know is that this is a reality and something Jesus Himself knew full well.

The prophet Isaiah said He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. (Isaiah 53:3)

And Jesus tells us to expect the same. He tells us that in this world we will have tribulation (John 16:33).

Maybe you’re asking God why you’re going through great hardship and deep suffering, and you’re not quite sure how much more you can take. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ and have set your heart to know and love Him, then you have set yourself upon a road marked with suffering.

This was the road walked by the Apostle Paul, and from His experience we can receive revelation, not as to why, but rather what God will do for you through it.

Paul suffered a thorn in the flesh. The Lord placed upon Paul some form of suffering so that He wouldn’t be prideful. Exactly what that thorn was no one truly knows. What we do know is that three times Paul pleaded for God to remove this suffering. He prayed, “Lord, enough already. Please deliver me.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-8)

But God didn’t deliver Paul from His affliction. Instead, God gave Paul something greater, His grace.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

God was telling Paul, as He’s telling us, “I have all the grace you need to see you though this time of suffering.”

Jesus said that while we will have tribulation, we could know this that He has overcome so we can have joy instead of sorrow (John 16:33).

King David said, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” (Psalm 34:19)

God has all the grace you need. God’s grace is His strength to deliver you. God’s grace is that something greater.