09 26 08 We Stand In Grace

“We have been made right with God because of our faith. Now we have peace with him because of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through faith in Jesus we have received God's grace. In that grace we stand. We are full of joy because we expect to share in God's glory. And that's not all. We are full of joy even when we suffer. We know that our suffering gives us the strength to go on. The strength to go on produces character. Character produces hope. And hope will never let us down. God has poured his love into our hearts. He did it through the Holy Spirit, whom he has given to us. At just the right time Christ died for ungodly people. He died for us when we had no power of our own. It is unusual for anyone to die for a godly person. Maybe someone would be willing to die for a good person. But here is how God has shown his love for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:1-8 NIrV)

If not for the grace of God…We hear that phrase so often. But really think about it: where would we be? We exist because He was gracious enough to create us. We have some means of health because He saw fit to sustain us. We have families, jobs, homes, cars, and other things because He was kind enough to provide us the means to obtain them. WE STAND IN GRACE…unless we fall! Even the trials and sufferings we may go through are a result of His grace…because it could be worse if He allowed to be so.

If anyone experienced the grace of God, it was Paul. He was as he said, the Hebrews of Hebrews (Philippians 3:5)! He had attained high levels in society, in government, and in his schooling. Yet there was still a void within his life. He did not have that unconditional peace, or that hope to endure affliction, or that love that only the grace of God can give. We too fall into the trap of believing we can (or have) accomplished so many things on our own merits. After all, we put the hours in for the schoolwork. We invested the overtime hours and sacrificed leisure time for that promotion. We earned our home, our vehicles, and our reputations. Yet when we see how futile it all is, we have to realize WE STAND IN GRACE!

“My brothers and sisters, consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything.” (James 1:2-4 NET)

Instead of blaming God for out pitfalls and setbacks, we need to be reminded that it’s because of them that we are where we are today! His grace has allowed us to see just how much He does for us. If not for God’s presence in our daily lives, we would be a mess. So as we are challenged day to day, we gain in grace, we gain in patience; we gain in our dependence upon God. So though we are not happy to go through financial challenges, illnesses, disasters, or any other physical or emotional pain, we rejoice that God is at work! He cares…He loves…He is right in the middle with me, even carrying me through, in His arms of grace. The reason I stand, we stand? WE STAND IN GRACE !