by Alisha | Aug 9, 2017 | Uncategorized
Are there areas in your life that you have had difficulties with on a regular basis? Are there things you’ve failed at or habits you’ve struggled with over and over? If so, then let me assure you that you are not alone.
As humans, we often fail, fall short and come up lacking in our own strength. We are incomplete. We are insufficient. But thank God for His love, His mercy and the beautiful gift of His grace!
2 Corinthians 12:9 (NKJ) says, And He (Jesus) said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you…”
The Message Bible translates this verse as: My grace is enough; it’s all you need.
What exactly is grace? The Greek word for grace is charis, which means “gift, favor, benefit,” (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance). And it is used to imply “pleasure, delight, favorable regard, beauty, friendly disposition, kindness, or goodwill,” (Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words).
The Greek root of “grace” implies “a superior stooping, bending or reaching down in kindness to an inferior.” This is a picture of God.
I like the way one minister explains it: “Grace is a kindness. It’s a gift – not something earned, deserved or merited. The grace of God is His favor, His anointing, His ability, His support, His wisdom, and His help.”
Isn’t that wonderful?
James 4:6 (AMP) says, But He gives us more and more grace (power of the Holy Spirit, to meet this evil tendency and all others fully)…
and
Hebrews 4: 16 (KJV) says, Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Grace is more than a little prayer we say before our meals. It is the power of the Holy Spirit to meet our needs and solve our problems. It is help in our time of need. It is enough – it’s all you need. God’s grace is sufficient for you!
God has given His grace to us. That grace is a supernatural gift of inner strength, ability, understanding, favor and more. As we learn to receive His grace, He will supernaturally help us to succeed in whatever situation we face.
John 1:16 (AMP) says, For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received…one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift.
The Lord has given us one grace after another, but just like any other gift, we have to receive it. We have to tap into this supernatural power. It won’t just fall upon us – we have to choose to accept it and walk in it.
If you choose not to receive and walk in God’s grace, then life will be a struggle – difficult and draining. You will have to do it on your own. Life will be hard. You will feel as if you’re walking around in a fog, and you will experience a sense of detachment from life and from the things of God.
But if you will learn to receive God’s precious gift of grace, there will be a supernatural flow to your life – a supernatural ease and ability to do what He has called you to do. Areas that you have had difficulty in will become easy. Things that you have failed to do, with enough grace, you now can do. Bad habits or addictions you have struggled with for years will be broken as you draw upon His grace.
With God’s grace, you will find that you make it through tests, trials and tribulations that might destroy someone else. God’s grace will empower you to stand through every circumstance or situation.
Let’s look at 2 Corinthians 12:9 again, but this time in the Amplified Bible:
But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness.
Without His grace, we are insufficient and incomplete. We come up lacking every time. But His amazing gift of grace is sufficient for us. It is enough. It is all we need.
Embrace God’s grace. Draw upon the strength and power of His grace. It’s a free gift – underserved and unearned, but it’s yours if you’ll just receive it!
Prayer:
Father, I thank You for the free gift of Your amazing grace. Today, I receive Your grace – Your power, Your ability, Your help – to accomplish all that I need to accomplish. Your grace strengthens me to stand no matter what comes my way. Your grace is sufficient. It is all that I need. It is enough. I embrace Your grace. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
by Alisha | Jul 30, 2012 | Uncategorized
As mothers, there are numerous occasions when one of our children may fall down and hurt themselves. Or perhaps they get their feelings hurt by a sibling or someone else. Or maybe they are afraid of something. At those times, there is only one place that will bring comfort and peace to that little one – our arms.
We naturally scoop them up into our lap, wrap them in our arms, and begin to reassure them. We may gently rock them, kiss them, sing to them, quiet them. We give them our time and attention. We give them our love. We tell them it’s going to be all right.
Our loving embrace brings comfort, peace, and consolation like nothing else can. And usually, after just a few moments, that little one calms down and jumps out of our lap to run and play and be all joyful once again!
Have you ever been hurt or afraid, and wished that you were a small child again so that you could be held, comforted, and reassured that everything – the circumstances or situations you are facing – will be all right?
If so, then I’ve got wonderful news for you!
Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV) says, The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.
And, Psalm 68:19 (NLT) tells us that …each day He carries us in His arms.
I love the picture this gives us of our heavenly Father! This is just like what we as mothers do for our children. We “quiet them with our love.” We sing to them to comfort and console them. But our Father can do this so much better!
Zephaniah tells us that He takes great delight in us! He loves us like no other can. Our problems, our hurts, our fears all matter to Him. He wants us to come running to Him. And He will scoop us into His lap, wrap us in His arms, sing songs to us, and quiet us with His love!
As much as we love our children, desire the best for them, and would do anything for them, God’s love for us is far greater!
The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 7:11 (AMP), If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good and advantageous gifts to your children, how much more will your Father Who is in heaven [perfect as He is] give good and advantageous things to those who keep on asking Him!
He loves us so much more than we could ever love our children. And because of Jesus, we can run to Him fearlessly and confidently any time we need Him (which is every moment of every day)!
Hebrews 4:16 (AMP) says, Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace…that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].
Isn’t that wonderful? Aren’t you glad you can come into His presence – His throne of grace – without fear or condemnation, and receive His grace to help, “appropriate and well-timed help…just when you need it?”
He is so good and so faithful!
I don’t believe we can even begin to fathom God’s great love for us, but we can rest assured in the following truths about Him:
- He has a great and wonderful and intense love for us! (Eph. 2:4 AMP)
- He delights in every detail of our lives. (Ps. 37:23 NLT)
- He cares for us affectionately and cares about us watchfully. (1 Pet. 5:7 AMP)
- His goodness and unfailing love pursues us all the days of our lives. (Ps. 23:6 NLT)
Whatever you are going through today, whatever hurt or fear you may be experiencing, whatever the situation or circumstance, run to your heavenly Father. Allow Him to scoop you up and wrap you in His loving arms. Receive His love, His comfort, and His encouragement. Listen as He rejoices over you with singing. Let Him quiet you with His love.
He will make everything all right.
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by Alisha | Jun 25, 2012 | Uncategorized
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” — Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)
Unforced rhythms of grace.
I love the sound of that. Just reading this one phrase brings peace to my entire being. Stillness floods my heart, quiet pours over my mind, calm flows through my body. I begin to de-stress and unwind. My perspective begins to realign as I remember that there is grace.
There is a gentle, flowing, movement of grace continually made available to me. And it’s available to you, too, if only you will receive it.
As women, we wear many hats – wife, mother, teacher, cook, breadwinner, financial manager, student, coach, cleaning lady, chauffeur. And it’s so easy to get caught up in the daily-ness of life, so easy to get stressed out, worn out and burnt out, that we often forget to tap into this ever flowing fountain of God’s grace.
With all the things that we have to do, how do we recover our lives? How can we learn to take a real rest, living freely and lightly? The answer is right here in this passage of scripture:
Jesus says, Come to Me. Get away with Me. Walk with Me. Keep company with Me.
In the midst of the busyness of life there is one key to maintaining rest and peace:
Being with Him.
It’s when we make the time to be with Him that the cares of this life melt away. It’s when we are in His presence that His peace floods our hearts and minds. Only with Him can we receive refreshing for our souls. It’s by being with Him that we learn the unforced rhythms of grace.
It doesn’t take hours and hours to receive His grace. It can be just a few quiet moments in which you focus your heart and attention on Him, allowing His unfailing love and amazing grace to enfold you.
I encourage you to make some time today (and every day) to get away with Him. Receive His peace. Receive His rest. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.
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