Grace Enough

There have been times in my life when I felt I was at the end... not the end of life but the end of life as I knew it. There seemed to be no hope. As far back as I can remember I've wanted to let God handle things, but there were times when He didn't even seem to be there. Then He would remind me to "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5) Whenever I listened and obeyed (as hard as that is sometimes), God always came through. He has grace enough to see us through.

The power of grace is enough to forgive us of all sins. It leads us through storms created by our own sins, but also sin in general. But we must be willing to come before Him with humble hearts to receive such grace. Proverbs 3:34 says, "He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble." The grace of God is available to all who will come to Him and freely receive it.

What we can expect when we experience the grace of God is beyond measure. Words like freedom, relief, refreshment, laughter, joy, and more come to mind. We no longer have to be negative and judgmental, we become more tolerant toward others. Guilt no longer is used to control others or to be controlled by others. In fact, all of the "tough" things the Bible encourages us to do in relationship with others, and with God, becomes possible. We become free of to love, forgive and experience forgiveness. God's grace is enough.

When I Fail

I read a devotional today by David Wilkerson. It reminded me of myself sometimes. He spoke of Adam's sin, and how he tried to hide from God. He also pointed out the truth that something much worse than failure is the fear that goes with it.

I thought of my many failures in the past and how, even though He holds us responsible to face their consequences, God always receives us with love and open arms. He doesn't get "mad" at us. Because of what Jesus did for us, and if we follow Him, we don't have to fear God. We can immediately come to Him and tell a Father who will receive us with more love than we can comprehend.

It also gives me hope for the future. As I follow God through Christ, I can know that He will help me as I face the consequences of my failure. Even then as I acknowledge Him, He will "direct my paths."

The path God has for us always leads us to and in Christ. To find His abundant life, we must follow His lead. Satan is a liar and wants us to believe there is no hope. But there is every hope in Jesus. That fact that you are reading this is evidence that God is reaching out to you. The Bible says we can't even consider God with the Holy Spirit calling us. (John 6:44)

Imagine a life of peace and abundance in the midst of the troubles of life. We are more than conquerors in Christ. "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." (Romans 8:28, NIV)

Have you failed? I know I have, many times. It doesn't matter how bad. No matter where you have failed, you are not out of God's reach and help. Don't fear Him and His guidance.

When I fail, I trust it to God.

Romans 8:35, 37-39 (NIV): Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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Help In Times Of Temptation

"The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment." (2 Peter 2:9, NKJV)

All of us are tempted. That's part of life in this world. Temptation is not sin. Sin comes when we give in to temptation. God knows that we cannot resist temptation on our on. So, He has made himself available to deliver us from the temptation. But it requires that we trust Him. "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:15, NKJV) That makes Him well qualified to protect us. He is qualified to deserve our trust.

It is easier to avoid the predictable traps of temptation... those things that are major sources of temptation in our lives. It is quite another thing to avoid those things that await us in the secret, unobvious places. We can stray away from the obvious. Only God can guard us from the treacherous deception of the enemy in the often unseen places. It is good to remember that the greatest temptation may come when we have experienced a "victory" in another battle.

Throughout our lives we must trust HIM through every temptation. He will guide us away from the hazardous paths, and will do battle for us in the face of the tempter. Jesus said to pray like this: "And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one." (Matthew 6:13a, NKJV) Reaffirming God's faithfulness, the Psalmist said, "He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake." (Psalm 23:3, NKJV)

Trust Him with your temptations today.