Greetings in the name of the “All Sufficient One” (2 Corinthians 9:8) and through Jesus Christ – THE Crucified and Risen Saviour! Yep! another one of those early Spring mornings that makes us long for warmer weather. However, this is the day that God has made … for ‘us’ and our challenge is to make it count … we will rejoice and be glad (pleased, contented, appreciative, willing to serve) in it! I will be praying for you today, asking Father to infuse you with energy, good health, and purpose.
The word “grace” has been around me all morning, right from the morning worship music to daily devotions to seeing it as a sign on the back of an automobile. I suppose God is wanting me to pay attention, so I went looking for a definition that would reveal what was being communicated. Since we all know what ‘grace’ is…amazing, yes that is so, but I had a sense that God was trying to light a new candle of understanding. Three phrases stood out from dictionaries: [1] simple elegance or refinement of moving [2] to honour or credit (someone or something) by one’s presence [3] a way of moving that is smooth and attractive. Now these are not what we usually associate with ‘grace’ in Christian circles …or are they?
Asking God for direction, I was prompted to look in Scripture for the words…”make all grace abound to you” and here is the verse: And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV…God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for everything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done. 2 Corinthians 9:8 The Message. As I read that verse and pondered, God moved me backwards in Scripture to an Old Testament image of ‘grace’: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV.
Let me put together what I believe God was revealing: trusting God and relying on his wisdom and affirming his control in my life would allow me to be a recipient of grace – so that I could “move’…act, behave, initiate, respond, speak, conduct myself…in my daily life with an attractiveness that would honour and credit his presence in my life – I would “flow” in my walk as a Christian with a smoothness that would draw the attention of others. “Grace” would prepare me to serve in ways that would be more than adequate to the challenges I was facing. Now I am going to meditate on that awhile – GRACE!
May you be blessed!