At an especially dark moment in what was otherwise a momentous life, the Apostle Paul recognized he was at the end of his usual resources—no answers, no solutions. Just this word from his Creator Redeemer: My grace is all you need at a time like this, because your present weakness allows me the opportunity to apply my omnipotence to its fullest in your present situation (note 2 Corinthians 12:9).

Grace—God's all-sufficient grace—is so beyond our understanding, I cannot define it precisely. We must experience it to understand. It seems to me that grace is when God accomplishes something with no necessary connection between cause and effect, because he is himself the "Sufficient Cause."

Grace is

to be confident in doubt
and secure in turmoil,

to have joy in sorrow
and peace in battle,

to be loved without a lover
and helped without a helper,

to be nourished without food
and assuaged without water,

to believe when doubtful
and trust when suspicious,

to see in the dark
and hear in the din,

to walk straight on a crooked path
and firmly on shifting sand.