POST-TRAUMATIC GROWTH (3)

“My grace is sufficient for you.” 2Cor 12:9 NKJV

One of the classic stories of adversity in the Bible is about Joseph. At the beginning of his life he is the favorite son, envied by his brothers, with dreams of being someone everybody bows down to. Then he’s kidnapped by his brothers and ends up serving as a slave in Potiphar’s house. He loses his home, his culture, his security and his status as favorite son. What does Joseph have left? He is in a strange bed, in a strange house, in a strange land, with no friends, no prospects, and no explanation. But he has one gift—one that makes all the difference. “The Lord was with Joseph” (Ge 39:2 NIV). What happens when you lose everything but God, then find out that God is enough? You experience His presence in a way you never did before! Paul writes: “Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death…No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us” (Ro 8:35-37 NLT). God wasn’t at work producing the circumstances Joseph wanted, He was at work in bad circumstances producing the Joseph that God wanted. Just as a diamond is formed out of common carbon placed under millions of pounds of pressure—so the character of Christ is formed in you by adverse circumstances. So the question is, will you hold up or fold up? When Paul thought he couldn’t stand any more, God told him, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2Co 12:9 NKJV). And do you know what? His grace is sufficient for you too.

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