Grace: God’s Great Equalizer

[GoldenEagle]

Read this today and thought I'd share... Thoughts?

God bless,

GE

Grace: God’s Great Equalizer

Several years ago, I was meditating on the passage, “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear Him and do what is right.” Acts 10:34-35

As I prayed I said, “Lord, I know you don’t play favorites, but some people are born rich and some people are born poor; some people are born healthy, and some people are born with great infirmities; some people are born into very loving homes and some people are born into very difficult homes. How does it all balance out?” What He showed me that day radically changed the way I looked at my life, other people’s lives, even national and international events. It was so simple it was profound. He said, “My great equalizer in life is My grace.” Then to make it even more clear, He gave me the following image. The dark portion representing the ups and downs of our lives; the gold portion representing the total sufficiency of His grace. Then He said, “Whatever you lack in life, I make up for by My grace.”

So whether He chooses to deliver us out of our circumstances or give us the power to be victorious in them, it is still the sovereign work of His grace. His strength is truly made perfect in our weakness.

Unfortunately, if we are not aware that His power and strength are readily available, we try to handle everything in our own strength. Here are just some things the Bible teaches us about the work of God’s grace in our lives:

“From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John 1:16-17

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

“All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all of your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:5-7

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

Maybe the following passage, where the Apostle Paul describes the work of grace in his own life, best demonstrates how God’s grace is both His unmerited favor and His unlimited power.

“For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them–yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” 1 Corinthians 15:9-10

Because of God’s unmerited favor, our acceptance is based on His character, not our performance. Because of His unlimited power, He can accomplish through us things that go far beyond our natural gifts and capabilities. Even as we look at the lives of the great men and women of God down through the centuries, what we see is not man’s wisdom or strength, but people who knew how to appropriate the incredible working of God’s grace. He doesn’t play favorites. His heart would be for that same favor and power to begin to be manifest in your life.

God never said life would be fair, but what He did say was that no matter what the circumstance, His grace would always be sufficient, and that we would never be tested beyond what we could handle. He gives grace for every day, every need and in every generation. Sin may abound, but His grace always much more abounds.

A. A victorious life is a life where the grace of God is given free and easy access, like a river that flows through a valley.

B. Remember, in His Kingdom the way up is down. God gives grace to the humble, but resists those who are proud.

C. Be quick to forgive those who have wounded you in any way! Refusing to forgive can seriously block the free flow of God’s grace in your life.

D. Daily rely on His grace rather than your own ability to handle life’s many challenges. Your strength, wisdom and ability to love will ultimately fail, but His love and power will never fail.

Grace and peace!

[Tinky]

That is beautiful. Thank-you! I really needed that today.

[nebula]

There is a quote I recently read that fits in with the part mentioned on relating to people:

"Be kinder than is necessary; everyone is fighting some kind of battle. "

[missmuffet]

Grace is God giving the greatest treasures to the least deserving-which is every one of us.

Thanks GE nice post

[GoldenEagle]

That is beautiful. Thank-you! I really needed that today.

This was a great encouragement to me as well. God's grace is the great leveler. We all need His love, mercy, and grace.

[GoldenEagle]

There is a quote I recently read that fits in with the part mentioned on relating to people:

"Be kinder than is necessary; everyone is fighting some kind of battle. "

A very good thought. It is true. A friend said this...

We as humans like to compare ourselves with others. ‘I'm not as bad as ___’ or ‘I could never be as good as____’. Grace puts all of the focus on Christ and removes every ounce of human effort or merit. I think this is one reason forgiveness can be so challenging. We feel like we are better than our offenders. But in reality, we have all offended God and because He has forgiven us, we have the grace to forgive.

[GoldenEagle]

Grace is God giving the greatest treasures to the least deserving-which is every one of us.

Thanks GE nice post

Very true sister. I think the OP is a good reminder that before the Cross we're all sinners saved by God's grace. Those who believe are God's children adopted into His family. Sons and Daughters to the King of Kings: co-heirs in Christ!