Word of Encouragement (8/26/2021)
Paul’s short prayer in 2 Tim. 4:22, “The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you,” is divided into two benedictions. We dealt with the first one the last two days. We will deal with the second one—“Grace be with you”—today.
We have to say that the first and the second benedictions are essentially the same: for Christ to be with us is for God’s grace to be with us since Christ is the full expression of God’s grace. And if grace is God’s demerited favor—a favor that is extended to hell-deserving sinners because of Christ’s redeeming work—what more do we need? Here is a beautiful expression of God’s grace:
“It's the light that pierces through you / To the darkest hidden place / It knows your deepest secrets / But it never looks away / It's the gentle hand that pulls you / From the judgment of the crowd / When you stand before them guilty / And you got no way out.... / It's the breath that's breathing new life / Into what we thought was dead / It's the favor that takes orphans / Placing crowns upon their heads / It's the hope for our tomorrows / The rock on which we stand / It's a strong and mighty fortress / Even Hell can't stand against” (Unspoken, “Call It Grace”).
If God deals with us according to His grace, how secure we are! All our faults and flaws and failures are known to Him—even the ones we are not aware of!—but He has chosen to love us nonetheless. That means He will never leave us or forsake us despite our sins and failures. How wonderful it is to be fully exposed, even to our most shameful secrets, and to be so completely loved by the almighty God! Again, this is only because Jesus, fully knowing the depth of our wickedness, went to the cross to pay for all our sins.
So, the grace of God will always be with us, from the beginning of our spiritual journey (“’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, / And grace my fears relieved; / How precious did that grace appear / The hour I first believed!”) to the end (“When we’ve been there ten thousand years, / Bright shining as the sun, / We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise / Than when we first begun”) and in between (“Through many dangers, toils and snares, / I have already come; / ’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, / And grace will lead me home”). Indeed, God’s grace will follow us all the days of our lives, both in this world and in the world to come! How amazing, indeed, God’s grace is!
Some of you may think that you don’t deserve God’s grace because of some terrible thing you have done. Grace is not something you deserve; it is something that God freely gives to undeserving, demerited sinners. If you feel unworthy of God’s grace, you are the right person for God’s grace.
Some of you may be taking God’s grace for granted. Your thanksgiving is not sincere, your prayer is not fervent, you are indifferent to what God’s Word says to you, etc. There is a world of difference between genuine faith, by which we humbly and gratefully accept from God what we don’t deserve, and presumption, by which we expect God to be good to us even though we do not love Him or hate sin. Humble yourself before God and ask Him to teach your heart to fear and have your fears relieved by His grace.
If you are in Christ, God’s grace is with you and will always be with you. Would you not open your heart wide and receive this wonderful grace of God anew at this moment? Would you not confess before God that the gift of His grace is better than anything you may lack or desire at this point and at any point in your life? Would you not trust Him in moments of trial and tribulation that God is at work to show you His grace in a way that is far beyond what you think or imagine? May grace be with you!