Thursday, March 18, 2021
And he said unto me, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9
Grace
The apostle Paul knew the secret of grace. In the face of opposition, God gave him a revelation. Why is this verse so important? Because Paul truly depended on God. He recognized that whatever came against him, he didn’t have to fight it in his own strength. He trusted in God’s ability and strength to continue in the work of the ministry.
How are we to get to the other side of whatever we are facing? The same way – by grace through faith (by God’s ability and our faith in that ability). Just as we operate in faith, we need to operate in His grace. How can we activate the grace of God in our lives?
1. Simply ask for it. God will not withhold any good thing from those who walk uprightly. Hebrews 4:16, Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. God’s ability is ever ready for us. We need only ask.
2. Be humble. Pride will always get in the way of God’s grace. Think about the person who is lost, driving around for hours trying to find a certain location, when they know they could just stop at the gas station and ask for directions. What keeps them from just stopping? Usually pride! The “I know how to do this” or “I can handle it” attitude never cuts it when it comes to grace. If you could do it yourself, you would have done it by now. God’s ability works best in a thoroughly yielded vessel. But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE." James 4:6
3. Know the Word. When you know the Word, you’ll be fully persuaded of God’s ability. In fact, the more intimate knowledge you have of God, His ability will be multiplied in your life. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work. II Corinthians 9:8
4. Be patient. Being delivered from a problem is not the only work of grace. Actually, grace is better known for delivering us in the problem. Grace is the power that sustains us until deliverance happens. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10
5. Trust God. Just holding on may not be evidence of faith. We may fear letting go because where we are is more comfortable than where we might land if we let go. Faith may call for us to let go and trust God. If I have asked God for grace and wisdom, humbled myself to His plan and confirmed it in the Word, I need to be willing to go where He leads to stay in the channel of His will. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7
God wants us to be everything He created us to be. He not only has a plan for our lives, He also has a power available to bring it to pass. Draw upon it in each and every situation. God’s best is ahead of you, as you take hold of His grace.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, 1 Corinthians 1:3-5
