Joan Boney
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Be strong in the grace given by God
The apostle Paul says ...
Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. II Tim. 2:1
Paul had some type of physical problem. It seems to have been an eye disease.
He prayed 3 times for it to be removed from Him.
II Cor. 12:8-9 ... For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And HE (God) said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
When it seems we can't go on, we purpose to go on through the grace given us by God to endure.
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I had a young friend who was 44 when I met him and he was diagnosed with the disease ALS one month after I met him. This is a terrible disease, a creeping disease, inch by inch paralyzing the human body. David lived approximately 4 years. He told me he had said he would never be in wheelchair. He kept falling. So he went to wheelchair. He could not overcome this disease by will power. But I witnessed David overcoming this disease by living in the grace of God. He became totally paralyzed, but you would never have known anything was wrong with him when you spoke with him by phone. I never heard any bitterness from him. Only by the grace given by God to endure could David have continued in this with a good attitude until he died.
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When I consider my life, I often consider the grace given by God to get me through the day. And often I know I overcome through HIS grace just by thinking about grace of God.
When Paul tells Timothy to be strong in the grace given by God, these are not idle words of salutation.
This instruction is for each of us in whatever circumstance we are in ... overcome through God's grace ... just by thinking about grace from God to endure.
I am acquainted with 3 recent widows. Two of these women are church goers and have been all their lives. But when they speak of their dead husbands, they show themselves to be dragged down, not overcoming.
In our church group we have one recent widow. I called her shortly after her husband died and I have spoken with her several times since then. I have never heard anything coming from her but joy. It certainly appears she is living in the grace of God.
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