“God is able to make all grace abound to you,
so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times,
you may abound in every good work.”
2 Corinthians 9:8
We have six women who have been born-into our family as daughters or grand-daughters. Three of them have the middle name of Grace — that’s right — half of our female progeny share the same middle name. That makes it a very special name for us.
Grace is just an all around fantastic word. It’s useful in so many ways. It can mean beauty and elegance — like a ballerina. It can denote charm and poise in a person — think Grace Kelly. Then there are the actions of thankfulness and blessing — as in saying grace.
Additionally, in spiritual vocabulary, we often define grace as ‘unmerited favor’. It means receiving from God something we don’t deserve. We do not deserve, and neither can we earn God’s forgiveness or a place within His family. Yet it is His grace, through faith, that opens the door for both those blessings. Do you see what a fantastic word it is?
But there is yet another application of the word grace that is at play in our focus verse today — the empowering work of God in our lives to do something, endure something, share something, live through something. Have you ever looked at someone else’s difficult situation in life and said to yourself, I could never do that? The truth is, you’re right, you couldn’t do that unless God’s grace was given to you for that situation. That’s what we call grace that enables us to do.
In this life on earth, God allows His kids to walk through situations where they desperately need His grace in order to not only survive, but also to abound. That’s what the Apostle Paul was talking about in the verse I quoted above — God is able to make His grace abound to us, so that we can turn around and abound in every good work. I have observed that it is in these seasons that we sometimes experience the most fruitfulness. This is the practical and helpful use of the word grace.
Think about your own life for a moment:
What challenges are you facing that require God's grace?
Are you already aware of God’s grace operating in your life?
If you’re walking through something difficult, have you asked for God’s grace to abound toward you?
I think this verse written to the Corinthians can be snatched from its passage as a promise of sorts — right along with Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” God has not always promised to give us answers, but He has always promised to give us grace! Give it a try — let God’s grace abound in your life!
As far as an update on me — I’m asking the Lord for His grace to abound toward me and I think He’s been doing a good work. Paul and I are actually in McCall, ID for a couple nights, enjoying our planned August get-away. Since we can’t be far from the clinic this summer, we decided to at least go somewhere each month and what’s not to love about McCall! We’ll be back in town for the weekend!
My Love,
Sue