The Year of Grace - 2024

II Corinthians 12:9 'And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.'

The Lord God will give us his grace and he will lead us in all the aspects of our lives. The Lord will pour his grace in abundance and we will witness the same. If we have the grace of the Lord, we shall not lack anything. The grace of the Lord will take care of everything. The word 'Grace' comes from the Greek word 'Charis'. It has many beautiful meanings such as benefit,favour, gift and liberality. The grace of the Lord will provide us a lot of benefits in all the stages of our lives. We will receive it generously. Also the definition of grace given by theologians is Grace is the mercy that God shows to an unworthy person. It is by the sheer grace of the Lord that we have prevailed against the pandemics and cyclones on earth. On the other hand the nature has become volatile as it is proving the weather forecasts wrong, there is a failure of intelligence agencies which are world famous. It is only the grace of the Lord which kept us alive on this earth. We shall meditate on the three blessings of grace.

Strengthening grace

II Corinthians 12:9 '..for my strength is made perfect in weakness.'

In this part of the verse, we reas the strenght of the Lord will strengthens us. The grace of the Lord will be sufficient for us in our weakeness and his strength will uphold us. The strengthening grace will be with us this year. The word 'weakness' comes from the Greek word 'astheniah' which refers to feebleness in soul and body. Also the word 'strength' is derived from Greek word 'Dunamis' which refers to miraculous supernatural strength. When we utter this word 'Dunamis' we can feel the strength of the Lord in our lives. The supernatural strength of God will strengthen us when we are weak in our soul and body. The divine strength that comes through his grace will strengthen us and will lead us. We read in Romans 8:26 'Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.' The greek word 'Asthaniah' is used in this passage on the word 'infirmities'. During our weaknesses, we need to confess the power of Dunamis will deliver and will strengthen us. May the weaknesses you havee experienced so far be strengthened by his Dunamis power. The power of Dunamis will take away all the sicknesses and weaknesses you have faced last year. The power of the Lord will change all the bad names and the people are going to wonder seeing how we are strengthened by the hands of the Lord. When we believe and confess the word of the Lord, it will work out in a supernatural way. We will witness the grace of the Lord in a supernatural way. The things which we thought was static and not moving, the grace of the Lord will move them.

Overcoming grace

II Corinthians 12:7 'And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.'

Over here we see a thorn as given to apostle Paul. We also read Paul was praying to remove that thorn from his life. The Lord God will pluck all the thorns that are bothering our lives and it will enable us to overcome. The Lord will give us grace to overcome difficult people who are poking us like thorns. The word 'Thorn' is derived from a greek word 'Skolops' which refers to point or prickle. When we have the strength of Dunamis, we will easily prevail many things and will command a permanent deliverance. We read in Psalm 18:29 'For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.' The Lord will give his overcoming grace to conquer many things. We need to believe that we will jump over any kind of wall and can face any kind of opposition. Do not worry seeing a big group or a troop that comes against us, the overcoming grace will make everything possible.

Grace that gives power

II Corinthians 12:9 'And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.'

In the above passage we can understand that the Lord not only gives his strength during weaknesses and grace to overcome the thorns but also gives his power to remain with us and lead us. If we need the strength of God in our weakness and his grace to overcome the thorn, we need the power to rest upon us. This year the Lord will shower his grace upon his children. We must believe that the power of Christ is dwelling in us by the grace of the Lord. The word 'Christ' comes from the greek word 'Christos' which means an anointed one. This year the words 'Christos Dunamis' will dwell in our lives. Just as the anointing of Jesus power rested and led him, the power of Christ will dwell in our lives and it will lead us. The Lord God has granted the authority to Jesus to cast out demons. The same anointing power will remain with us and will overcome Satan by the grace of the Lord. We read in I John 5:5 'Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?' When we believe in the word of the Lord, we will be strengthened and will overcome any kind of evil works. The power of Christ will enable us to overcome diseases, bondages , curses in the name of Jesus. The grace of the Lord will give us grace to overcome Satan and it will destroy the evil forces. The grace of the Lord will empower us to overcome all things everyday. Amen.