PrintGrace Sufficient
At this precise time last week I was being wheeled into an operating theatre to undergo surgery that would most likely see the complete removal of my right kidney together with the malignant growth that had been discovered just four weeks beforehand.
As I think about that event, I must say that I find the whole ordeal harder to handle in retrospect than I did at the actual time. Over the last 72 hours my mind has often formed words like, "This time last week I was facing…..""This time last week I was feeling…." and so on. Yesterday I physically shuddered as I reflected on those events.
I recalled being wheeled along the seemingly endless corridors to the operating theatres. I remembered snippets of the conversation with the anesthetists. I noted that the large clock on the wall read 8.55am. I can recall a brief conversation with the surgeon. Most of all, I recall how peaceful I felt in that totally foreign environment.
I felt much more peaceful in the events themselves than I do right now as I re-live the dynamics of that day. How can this be? I attribute this to 2 main factors.
1. Because of the prayer partnership of so many people. I made use of my email address list to recruit a team of people who I knew would take seriously any commitment they made to pray for us in the hours leading up to surgery as well as the surgery itself and the remaining time in recovery.
2. Because the grace of God is sufficient at the precise time it is needed – not before and not after. I needed that grace (God's empowering presence) this time last week. I don't need it today – which is why I shudder as I imagine myself back in that situation.
I recall a story I heard back in the days when I attended Bible College. It had to do with a Christian who was to be burned at the stake the next day. That night, in order to get an idea of the sensation of burning, he touched the flame of the solitary candle in his cell. He quickly withdrew his hand from the flame. How could he possibly endure the pain and agony of the next day? Would he prove to be a faithful witness or a faithless traitor?
Yet the next day he went to his death with joy in his heart and singing the praises of God with all his being. Grace was not needed the night before. But when it was needed the next day, it was all-sufficient grace.
