God’s Grace Enables Me
Why do I want to have God’s grace? The sovereignty of God allows challenging issues to invade our lives, often stressing us beyond our ability to cope. Yet I may rest assured that before any trial washes up on the shores of my life, it first must sail across the sea of God’s moral attributes. Therefore Paul asserts,
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
Romans 8:28–29 NIV
Christ may use all that I encounter to strengthen me. The ultimate purpose of God’s grace enables me to live for His glory. Strong’s concordance describes edification as “the act of one who promotes another’s growth in Christian wisdom, piety, happiness, and holiness.” 1
I Am the Recipient of God’s Grace
I am truly graceful—filled with God’s life-giving Spirit and resurrecting power. Remarkably the divine influence at work in my edification process is also the authority that raised Jesus from the dead on the third day after His crucifixion.
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
Ephesians 1:17–21 NIV
Grace Defined
Grace, simply defined, is God’s power to live that enables me to fulfill His will and be complete. Above all, God’s grace is continuously at work, transforming me into the image of Jesus. Grace also edifies the believer by enabling me to live in accord with the Spirit of God. The redemptive work of His Spirit develops my spiritual nature while achieving maturity. It also encourages me to die to my sinful desires.
Desperate Dependency reminds us that
As surrendered followers of Jesus Christ who live in desperate dependency upon Him, we are empowered by God to live beyond ourselves. The power to live Christ’s life on earth cannot be manufactured by our own efforts. We are not even capable of conceptualizing the process. Human beings on a quest for their own best interest usually resort toward self-indulgence or self-promotion, thinking self-empowerment is somehow the solution to their powerless condition.
J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis
Insight Journal
- I need God’s grace because . . .
Read more about God’s grace in the post What Is God’s Job in My Life?
Excerpts from Marriages that Minister by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis. Available from your favorite book retailers, including Amazon and Redemption Press. (As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.)
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1James Strong, Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2001).
