I wonder how you woke up this morning? Fresh as the proverbial daisy? Feeling overwhelmed by what today holds? Feeling tired from a night of tossing and turning? Or excited by all the possibilities today brings? Probably for most of us there is a bit of a kaleidoscope going on with all of those things running through our minds in turn. It may well be that not many of us wake up every day singing ‘This is the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.’ Psalm 118:24, AV.
Well this morning I was reminded again that whatever the day brings and however I slept and awoke, there will never be a shortage of grace for everything that the day holds. Now that is something to be thankful for!! Grace sufficient for every eventuality is always available, and because grace is itself given to us ‘through’ grace, the supply of grace will never be dependent on, or as a result of, my performance. And that is something else to be very thankful about!!
Grace will be available to keep us overcoming in all circumstances, at the same time as keeping us totally humble, because we can say with Paul, ‘Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.’ 2 Corinthians 3:5. It is also in that same letter that Paul reminds the Corinthians that ‘God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all you need, you will abound to every good work’. 2 Corinthians 9:8
Having ‘sufficient’ grace in every situation, can feel like “phew, I just made it through”. It can feel like getting to the end of the month with relief that there were ‘sufficient’ funds for all the standing orders and the shopping bills. ‘Sufficient’ can feel like ‘enough but no extra’, but the difference between the bank of heaven and my high street or online bank is that the heavenly bank has a never ending supply of grace pouring into our account, and the more we need to take out the more that pours in. In the language of heaven, sufficient means ‘way more than enough’ for each situation.
The fact is, I can never be in a situation where the ‘grace’ account has gone into overdraft. I will never get that letter that says, ‘You have exceeded your agreed overdraft so charges will now be incurred, and no more funds will be made available’. If we look at that verse again slowly, and meditatively, we will note that the word ‘all’ appears four times and the word ‘abound’ twice, and then we will get a sense of God’s plan to fully equip us for every eventuality for His glory.
Jesus said, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given you. This is to my Fathers’ glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John 15:7,8. So what are ‘His words’ on this subject? I think that they are the same words that He spoke to Paul when he was feeling really bad because of his ‘thorn in the flesh’ (that the Lord was not taking away), “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness”. 2 Corinthians 12:9. However big and deep and far reaching our weakness is, there is sufficient grace to cover it, and Jesus’ words encourage us to ask for that grace with faith in our hearts.
So if there is no shortage of supply, how do we make sure that we draw on this supply throughout the day? Yes, you guessed it! I thank Him for that supply in the moment…. Thank you Lord for the patience I am needing right now….thank you for the wisdom for this problem…..thank you for the love I am wanting to express to this person…etc etc… and as I thank Him He pours it out and I receive it. Every drop of grace comes from Him, and the Holy Spirit pours into, with and through the Christ within. My part is to receive and allow that grace to flow out into the world and my situation, through my life, my words and actions.
It is no wonder that Paul starts every one of His letters with the words, ‘Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ’. He knew it was the only way they could live the Christian life fully, and the only way that they could receive the revelation and instruction that he had penned in his letter. He started every letter with grace, let us start every day, thanking God for His grace and thus preparing ourselves to receive all that we will be needing as the day progresses.
