Bible Study with Me // 2 Cor 12:9-10
 |
| via Unsplash |
It was one quiet afternoon. I decided to sit down and do an in-depth Bible study.
I made my coffee, got out my pens, Bible and all the other necessary tools and sat down at my desk.
Little did I know what the Lord would show me from His Word when I devoted that time to Him.
That is the first point I wish to make. Take time, take time out of your day to spend in the presence of Jesus. When you give Him your time, He will bless it.
Also, lately I have been reading large portions of Scripture, and while that is all fine and dandy, I forgot the importance of "eating small bites and chewing slowly".
The analogy of eating fits very well with the reading of the Word. When you scoff down your food(the Bible), you are less likely to enjoy it, enjoy the flavor and to reap the benefits of it.
Whereas if you chew each mouthful slowly, you can enjoy the taste and it will be much more beneficial.
Back to the real reason for this post!
Come along with me as I study these few precious verses that have so much to offer.
In case you wish to know, here's what I used for this little Bible study.
• Bible (of course!)
• Highlighters and pens
• Coffee because why not? (This was one of the nicest coffee's I've had in a while!)
I typed out the verses I wanted to study and printed it out so that I could write all my notes around it.
In addition to that, I printed out a study guide on these particular verses of 2 Corinthians 12.
By now you are probably wondering which verses I chose to study!
I chose 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 because I just felt that those where verses that I should study a bit more in-depth.
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. ~ 2 Cor 12:9-10 (ESV)
I began by saying a short prayer and then I read the full chapter of 2 Corinthians 12 so I could understand the context.
After that, I went through verses 9 & 10 and highlighted and circled certain words.
I used pink for what God does/His character and green for what we do or should live out.
The words that I circled were words that I thought were important and significant or ones that I wanted to look into more.
That's another tip I have for you! Look up the meanings of words even if you think you already know it. Often it will give a deeper meaning to what you are studying!
For instance, other words for sufficient are enough and adequate.
Think about that, His grace is enough for you, and it is adequate to meet your daily needs!
I also wrote down a summary of the meaning of grace. I think it has to be my favourite explaination of what grace is!
"Sweet, unmerited favor from God that offers forgiveness, not because of who we are but because of what Jesus has done." ~ Whitney Daughterty (I wrote a whole post inspired by this quote a while ago and you can read that here. )
Then I read through the study guide, writing down my own thoughts and some points from the study guide that I wanted to remember.
I wish I could share with you all the points I got out of this small passage but a few of my favourites will have to suffice.
• Sometimes instead of removing the hardship in our lives God simply gives us His grace we need to handle it. His grace is sufficient to meet all our needs.
• God can remove the burden or strengthen the shoulder that bears it. Whatever will bring Him the most glory! Thus showing His strength in our weakness.
We must acknowledge our own weaknesses and insufficiency in order to receive the sufficiency of God's grace.
• When we're forced to depend on His grace for strength, our dependence on God makes us stronger than if we were to be self-sufficient and proud.
• In light of his life and accomplishments, we would say that Paul was a very strong man. But he was only strong because he knew his weaknesses and looked outside of himself for the strength of God's grace.
There is much more I wish I could share but these few points are a glimpse into what I learned!
 |
| I apologise that the lighting is bad in this photo. By the time I was finished with this, it was dark out and I had to turn the light on! |
My hope is that this post would encourage you if you are in a place where you feel weak and helpless. Let God's grace be your strength and lean on His everlasting arms of love!
I also hope that you were inspired to take out your own Bible and study these verses for yourself and find the treasures that God has in store for you in His Word or that you would simply set aside time in your day for Christ.
keep blooming!
xoxo
Hannah
