Grace for Today

Today I am trading my efforts for His Grace!  Much easier said than done of course.  God’s grace is not just unmerited favor which I need and desire in my life, but it is also His ability on my inability to accomplish what he has called me to do.  His word says that I can do all things through Christ Jesus which strengthens me.  How do I get His strength on my weaknesses so that I can accomplish all things? Yesterday my pastor called it ” The great grace exchange! ”  Which in one word, simply means surrendering.

Sometimes just mentioning the word ” surrender” brings with it all kinds of resistance.  “But what about my rights?”  “Or don’t I get a say so?”  Surrendering to the Lord does not mean I give up my freedoms or choices.  As a matter of fact Jesus came so that I would have freedom, but he does not force anything on me.  Accepting Jesus in my life was a choice.  Because I chose him,  my eyes were opened to a new ryhmn of possibility and  choices that I never even knew existed.   He died to give me choice.  In the scriptures the Lord says I can choose life or choose death.  Being a Christian is all about choice and surrender.   I can choose to live with his grace in and on my life or not.  When I find myself struggling to be a Christian all the time or striving to get anything accomplished  then obviously something is not right.   It is like a spiritual alarm clock that is telling me to wake up.  I  probably need to see if I’ve done a grace exchange in that particular area.  Have I surrendered that particular area of my life to him, so that I can obtain His grace.

Salvation through Jesus came as a work of grace in my life.  I did not obtain salvation through my own efforts or by my works it was a free gift.  So in saying all of that, what makes me think that If I obtained salvation through faith and grace, that I can now go on to live out a Christian life without that same kind of grace?  Paul addresses the Galatians and asked them point blankly “Who has bewitched you?”  He let them know that what they began in the spirit they could not now do in their own efforts.  I need this reminder often, because when I am struggling or striving, it is usually because I am trying to do it on my own works instead of  by His grace.

One thing I have discovered about the Lord, is that He delights in giving me His grace. He is not withholding anything from me.   He desires for me to be all He has created me to be and wants me to fulfill all of His plans for me.  The scripture says that it gives Him great pleasure to give the kingdom to His children.  If you are reading this blog today , I hope you can sense His presence and His grace.  Maybe if you’ve been struggling and striving this blog will be a simple reminder or a gentle alarm clock that awakes you to “the great grace exchange!”