Strength for Good Works (2 Corinthians 9:8)
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. —2 Corinthians 9:8
I told my neighbor I’d be available to help. After all, it was only some basic yard work, and Saturday morning was open on my calendar.
That was Monday.
Little did I know Tuesday through Friday would be so riddled with lengthy emails, sudden deadlines, and late-night projects that by Saturday morning, my neighbor’s yard work was the last thing I wanted to do. I wondered if I should just cancel.
Eyeing Our Insufficiency
Often, it can feel like we just don’t have enough time, energy, or resources when opportunities to serve or bless others come our way. We don’t deny the worth of helping, but we question our capacity to be the ones doing it.
There are times, of course, when it’s better to humbly rest and trust that God can enable others, not just us, to be His hands and feet. Other times, however, the problem may be that we’re only considering what we can manage in our own strength. If this is the vantage point from which we decide when to serve and bless, we’re forgetting where our capacity comes from and the nature of God’s immeasurably great power “toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might” (Ephesians 1:19).
Recalling God’s Ability
The entire second letter to the Corinthians commends not limiting our labors on the basis of personal capacity, but leaning into greater labors because our God is limitless. It encourages regularly coming to the end of ourselves in serving so that God’s sufficiency, not our own, might shine forth (3:5-6). Yes, Paul repeatedly affirms, you may be weaker than you’re prone to think (he calls us jars of clay, 4:7), but God is far more gracious than we tend to believe. “God is able to make all grace abound to you” (9:8a, emphasis added).
This phrase is only part one of the verse, yet it is well worth pausing to consider. After all, if we don’t believe this, there’s really no sense in reading what follows. Our willingness to carry out part two will hinge on whether we think part one is true. Thankfully, we’ve got not only Paul, but the entire church of Macedonia to offer their personal testimony. Even in Paul’s seeming sentence of death (1:8-9) and their severe test of affliction (7:1-5), God’s grace proved sufficient. Christian, it will prove sufficient for you as well.
Because God is able to make all grace abound to you, you can trust Him to equip you for the work He calls you to. In fact, you can trust Him to so equip you that “having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may” (and can, and should) “abound in every good work” (9:8b, emphasis added). He who supplies seed to the sower will not leave you with enough for a patch when you need enough for a field—quite the opposite. He will instead supply and even multiply your seed for sowing (9:10). Indeed, through Him you will have all you need to move forward in every good work, for God is faithful.
The Fruit of Good Work
When God gives grace to His people, and God’s people put His grace toward good works, God gets the glory (9:11-13). He—the unending fountain of every grace—delights to have His surpassing power shown through our dependent working (4:7). For this reason, we should, as Paul did, boast all the more gladly in our weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon us, and indeed work through us, in our every good work (12:9).
When Saturday arrived, God helped me to help my neighbor. Because of God’s abundance, not my own, we were able to fully restore the yard. It was hard, sweaty work, but God’s grace was sufficient. The same could be said of all our labors. Whether we recognize it or not, our sufficiency for every good work always comes from God. May He help us to more often see it, and give Him the glory!
For Reflection
How do you respond when others ask you for help? Are you slow to say yes? What’s holding you back?
Consider your typical patterns of serving and giving to the church. Where might God be calling you to increase your contribution based on his abounding grace?
Ask God to give you eyes to see where you're doing good works in your own strength, and to help you give Him the glory for giving you whatever strength you have.
Michael Schumann is an adjunct instructor in Biblical and Theological Studies. Currently he is pursuing his PhD in New Testament at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky with his wife and their three children.
