Life’s Greatest Secret: God’s Grace

I believe that life’s greatest secret is God’s grace. His grace cannot be earned because it is God’s free gift of salvation.

Ephesians 2:8-9

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

This is entirely accurate, but let us remember that grace does not stop when a person is saved. Grace is God’s gift of enabling power that allows us to accomplish the entirety of His will.

Grace to Serve God Acceptably

Romans 7:18

“For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.”

If we could do this by ourselves, we would have no need for grace and the cross of Christ would be for nothing. We have no power in our own strength to obey God and live righteously before Him.

Grace to Endure Trials

In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul pleads with the Lord to take away something that is causing him pain and anxiety, the “thorn in his flesh.”

God doesn’t respond by removing the trial, but by showing him that His grace (power) will give him the strength to endure it.

When it is God’s will for us to suffer all kinds of trials so that our faith may be refined, He will always give us the power to endure them with purpose as we know that they lead to eternal victory.

This is something that really resonates with me. I was born premature and as a result I am visually impaired. There are a lot of challenges that come with having a disability. At times I feel very overwhelmed and broken.

Yet, in all these things, I know this:

Philippians 4:13

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

This verse means that we can endure every situation through Christ’s strength. God’s grace will sustain us through every circumstance. When we are weak we are truly strong, because our strength is found not in ourselves, but rather it is found in the Source of Strength.

How to Receive Grace

As with salvation, God’s grace is received through faith. Grace is a gift. All we have to do is ask for it. When we ask, we must believe that we will receive it as long as it is in accordance with His will.

In order to do this, we must first understand that we are called to continually rely and depend on God in our everyday lives.

We will not see the purpose of needing His grace until we recognize that we cannot do this life on our own.

James 4:6

“But He gives more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

God gives His grace to those who know they need it. True strength is found in the admission of our weaknesses, for only then can we rise above them by God’s power.