He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2 CORINTHIANS 12:9
One of the most colorful missionaries to China has got to be Gladys Aylward. Her story, found in the book The Little Woman, is one of my favorite missionary stories.1 Gladys was born on February 12, 1902, in Edmonton, London, England, and since in those days domestic service was about the only future prospect a young girl from an ordinary family had there, that was how she eventually supported herself.
Gladys had grown up in a churchgoing home, but she was more of a cultural Christian. Then one night she went to a meeting where the gospel was presented, and suddenly Gladys understood the work of Jesus as she never had before. She realized He had a claim on her life, and she dedicated her life to the Lord that night.
As she was reading a Christian magazine just a few months later, an article about China deeply moved her. She talked to her friends about possibly going there as a missionary. They encouraged her to continue in domestic service as a maid and use her earnings to help financially support the missionaries already stationed in China. This didn’t settle right with Gladys, and the desire to go to China kept increasing.
Eventually Gladys applied to a missions board. After testing her, they concluded she didn’t have the aptitude and vitality to be a missionary to China. They felt at her age and with her limited intellectual prowess she wouldn’t be able to learn the complicated Chinese language.
Gladys sought the Lord, and rather than her determination to go to China dampening, it was confirmed. She went to a local travel agency and put a down payment on the cheapest one-way ticket to China available. From her limited funds working as a parlor maid, Gladys made weekly installments on her ticket.
Gladys had no idea what she would do in China since she didn’t speak Chinese, but she avidly read any books she found on the culture and learned a few phrases. One day a friend of her employer told her about a widow, Mrs. Lawson, who was serving in China. Jeannie Lawson was 73 and praying for someone younger to come to China and carry on the ministry she administered. Gladys immediately wrote to Mrs. Lawson and explained her desire, her endeavors, and her willingness to come. After some time, the reply came all the way from China to Gladys’s front door. It was succinct: If Gladys could come to Tientsin, Jeannie Lawson would meet her there. Gladys packed her bags.
The story of Gladys’s passage is harrowing and packed with miracles, but when she finally reached Tientsin, a Mr. Lu escorted her the many miles to Yangchen, where Jeannie Lawson owned and operated the Inn of Sixth Happiness. Mrs. Lawson immediately put Gladys to work.
The Inn of Sixth Happiness was on the trade route, and traveling merchants stayed there. Inside the inn was a large courtyard with a fire burning for warmth. The horses and other pack animals were fed, housed, and protected while the merchants were told Bible stories in the Chinese language as they ate and rested.
Gladys’s first job was to use phrases Jeannie taught her to go out into the streets and compel merchants to come to the inn. Gladys did her job with gusto, often grabbing mules by the harness and coaxing whole caravans to seek their lodging at the Inn of Sixth Happiness. The merchants were engrossed in Mrs. Lawson’s Bible stories and often responded to the message of God’s Son coming to earth to live and die for their sins. These merchants then went to the different villages throughout the province, telling others about the Inn of Sixth Happiness and the wondrous stories they’d heard there.
Gladys memorized the stories Jeannie Lawson repeated each night before the roaring fire. She practiced them again and again, using the same inflections she’d heard from the aged missionary. Jeannie soon had Gladys sharing the stories with the traveling merchants.
With Jeannie’s health deteriorating quickly, more and more duties and responsibilities were relegated to Gladys until she was the one running the Inn of Sixth Happiness. When Jeannie Lawson died, Gladys simply kept doing what she’d been doing.
Gladys practiced and used the Chinese she’d learned over and over until she became proficient in the language. It soon became so natural to her that she thought as well as spoke it. This proficiency unexpectedly opened many doors and offered a myriad of miraculous opportunities for Gladys to share the gospel. She became one of the most effective missionaries to ever enter China.
It’s important to note that Gladys became proficient in the Chinese language because she practiced and incorporated it into every aspect of her life. She didn’t just memorize certain phrases; she applied them to all she did until she was even thinking in Chinese.
Practicing Grace
In the same way, grace must be practiced until we’re proficient in it. We can’t just assume certain aspects of grace; we must receive grace into our hearts and let it inundate our entire being so we begin to think gracious thoughts and operate in grace. Proverbs 16:3 states, “Commit your works to the LORD, and your thoughts will be established.” When we desire to be gracious, our thoughts become established in grace. To really learn, think, and operate in grace, we need to begin to apply grace to every aspect of our lives.
As women engaged in the battle for grace, we must learn to use the implements and power of grace. We must become skilled and practiced in grace.
Paul was an apostle who learned the power of grace firsthand. He was a fierce opponent of the gospel of grace until he had a personal encounter with the God of All Grace. Before this encounter, Saul—Paul’s name until the Lord changed it—hunted down Christians and arrested them. He was violent in his dealings. He would burst into households and drag whole families to prison. In his misguided zeal for God and the Mosaic Law, he was vehement, aggressive, and cruel.
Then one day—the day he met Jesus—his whole life was drastically altered.
Saul had heard the church was growing in Damascus. He received an official injunction from the high priest to go there, hunt down the believers, and bring them back to Jerusalem to be tried. Accompanied by a band of like-minded men, Saul set out on his mission. On the road at noontime, however, a great light blinded the persecutor and propelled him to his knees. Then a rumbling voice sounded from heaven: “ ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ ” (Acts 9:4).
Shaken, Saul asked, “ ‘Who are You, Lord?’ ” (verse 5). Already his bravado was melting. He was ready to serve this new Sovereign who had arrested him on his mission. The voice answered, “ ‘I am Jesus, who you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads’ ” (verse 5).
Can you imagine this encounter? The very person Saul had been aggressively sinning against was present and powerfully calling him to account for everything he’d done. Jesus was not only alive; He was powerful! Saul trembled as he meekly asked, “ ‘Lord, what do You want me to do?’ ” (verse 6).
I wonder what he expected. Having fought so hard and cruelly against the people of Jesus, he must have expected to receive the same harshness and cruelty. The trials of the Sanhedrin were brutal and ended in condemnation. Saul was on trial here. Yet the word of the Lord was, “ ‘Arise, and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do’ ” (verse 6).
From that day forward Saul became Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ. With the utmost dedication to Jesus Christ, Paul heralded the gospel, sought to persuade men to know Jesus, taught in synagogues and churches, traveled throughout the empire of Rome as the first missionary of the gospel, wrote doctrinal and instructional letters to the churches, endured riots and persecutions, and established churches in many of the major cities of the empire. Though Paul endured persecution, he was greatly used by God, and the church flourished under his ministry.
Paul credited God’s grace as the reason for all his success. He’d met grace on the road to Damascus. Jesus, in His grace, sought out Paul. Paul was on the road to destruction when Jesus forcefully stopped him in his tracks and then revealed His power to him. Yet Paul needed to learn even more grace.
I think Paul was a can-do type of guy. Give him a job and he’d throw all his considerable energy, strength, and time into it. Before he met Jesus, he had already gained the position of a Pharisee. He was educated beyond his peers. He was zealous in his dedication and service to the Mosaic Law. However, service to Jesus Christ would require divine energy, strength, and power. Paul learned the secret of this power when he ran out of his own reserves of endurance.
Paul had an affliction so severe that he described it as “a messenger of Satan” buffeting him (2 Corinthians 12:7). Three times he implored the Lord to take away the infirmity. Paul, no doubt, felt that without the setback of suffering, he could serve the Lord more effectively.
Paul was a man of prayer. He sought the Lord daily. I think this “thorn in the flesh” was often a subject of prayer. On three specific occasions, however, it became more than the apostle could bear. On those occasions he pleaded with the Lord to take it away (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).
God’s response to Paul was revolutionary to the apostle. Though he had received God’s saving grace and was called by God’s grace into divine service, Paul was to learn to implement this same grace in every endeavor, deficiency, and circumstance. God said to him, “ ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness’ ” (verse 9). This answer was unexpected and revelatory. God was showing Paul a superior means to life and ministry—the means of grace.
Like the apostle, we all have places in our lives we want to pray away. Often we think, If I just didn’t have this or that, I could serve the Lord more effectively. If I just didn’t have
this job.
this family member.
this location.
this illness.
this weakness.
this person in my life.
this culture.
this limitation.
this history.
this bill.
this responsibility.
this pain.
this deficit.
I’ve even said to the Lord in prayer, “If You would just remove this from my life, I could be so much more effective for You.” We fail to realize that God allows these very issues into our lives purposefully, even artfully, to constrain us to the greater power of His grace.
I remember years ago saying to the Lord, “If I didn’t have this nose and these keen olfactory senses, I could be so much more effective in my service for You!” Unfortunately, I was born with a keen ability to smell. I can sniff out any odor. To me it often seemed like a curse. I’m easily nauseated and literally sickened by smells. My nose has greatly limited my job opportunities, places of ministry, and to whom I can minister.
One year when I was overseeing a women’s retreat in the country-side of England, a certain woman came. Hannah had never been to a retreat. For years she’d been housebound because of the humiliation of a skin disease that covered her body. She registered by phone, and I and those working with me were overjoyed at the opportunity to love on Hannah.
Hannah had a vibrant personality, and though she was self-conscious about her disfigurement, others at the retreat were most conscious of her smell. The odor was so bad that though it was December and snowing outside, we kept the windows wide open in the meeting room. All the women wore their parkas to the services.
Hannah wanted a moment alone with me. We stood in the doorway to talk, and I found myself gagging. It was an involuntary response, and I was doing my best to suppress it. I tried to not breathe through my nose to counteract the effect Hannah’s stench was having on me. When I tried to breathe through my mouth, however, I could almost taste the smell of dried urine and feces that emanated from her body. I had to make my excuses, turn away, and find a bathroom, where the contents of my stomach vacated my body.
I felt terrible! I wanted desperately to minister the love of God to Hannah. She was insecure, lonely, and feeling rejected. I prayed to the Lord to desensitize my olfactory nerves. It didn’t happen, but a group of women discreetly asked me if something could be done about Hannah. They, like me, wanted to love on her, but the stench was nauseating them to the point of distraction from the Bible studies.
I went back to prayer. Rather than complaining about my nose, I asked for wisdom. Suddenly the idea was laid on my heart to go into town and buy Hannah all new clothes. I asked a friend to go with me. We found a clothing store, and before entering it, we prayed, “Lord, we don’t know Hannah’s size or what she needs. You love her, and we trust you to show us. We want Hannah, as Your child, to feel loved and wanted.”
Inside the store we purchased undergarments, a shirt, a sweater, slacks, a scarf, a warm jacket, socks, and even shoes. We found all these items at greatly reduced prices. They were not only goodlooking and practical, but bargains! God knew we were on a limited budget. Next, we hit the market, where we bought soap, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, deodorant spray, face flannels (the English term for wash cloths), and a towel.
We were elated until we reached the conference center. Now a new dilemma presented itself. How were we to get the items to Hannah without offending her? Who would be willing to help Hannah bathe and use these items?
I asked a nurse at the conference if she would be willing. She flatly refused, and I couldn’t fault her. After all, this wasn’t something I wanted to or even felt capable of doing. Then I saw my friend Pam, who was visiting from California. I knew she had often volunteered with ministries to the homeless. Meekly, I approached her, holding the bags of newly purchased items. A smile lit up Pam’s beautiful face. “I would love to,” she said. Then her countenance slightly fell. “But” she added, “I wouldn’t want to rob anyone else of the blessing.” We assured her that no one else wanted that blessing.
Again, we prayed, and Pam took the bags to Hannah’s room. Hannah was suspicious as she eyed Pam and the bags. Pam explained she was there because Jesus loved Hannah and had a gift for her. Hannah was still suspicious, but she let Pam into the room. “How does Jesus know what size I wear?” Pam prayed a quick prayer for wisdom before responding, “He knows you thoroughly. Let’s see what He bought you.”
Pam began to remove each item from the bag. Hannah’s excitement grew as each new and beautiful item was displayed. Hannah agreed to a bath, but she admitted she hadn’t had one in years because her skin disease had made them painful. Pam prayed with Hannah, and then Hannah allowed Pam to help her bathe. There was no pain, and now Hannah was clean. Tentatively, she put on the underwear and bra. They fit perfectly. Hannah began to jump up and down, chanting, “Jesus loves me, and He knows my size!”
Pam asked if she could spray the body deodorant on her. Hannah hesitated, and Pam sensed her apprehension. “Hannah, Jesus took the pain away when you bathed and gave you the perfect size underwear. Don’t you think you can trust Him with this spray?” Hannah closed her eyes tight and braced for pain. “All right. Go ahead!”
Gently Pam began to mist Hannah’s body. Hannah opened one eye and then the other. “There’s no pain!” Hannah exclaimed. Then Pam went for it. She doused Hannah in the fragrant spray, and Hannah smelled wonderful!
Next came the shirt and slacks. Again, they were perfect fits. Then the sweater, hat, and scarf. Jesus had nailed it! Hannah put the socks on and then the shoes. Yep! Jesus knew her shoe size too. Finally, she tried on the jacket. Everything was just right!
When Hannah came to dinner that night, she had more invitations to sit at various tables than she knew what to do with. Later at service, people sat next to Hannah. She received more hugs at that retreat than she’d ever received in her life!
I had to ask myself, what if my nose hadn’t been my deficit? Hannah would never have known the love of her sisters in Christ, and Pam would never have been able to minister to this precious sister in Christ.
Those things we wish we didn’t have are often the very instruments God uses to lead us deeper into His grace. Conversely, even as we think we would be better without some things, we think we would be better with some things. The list can be extensive. We think, I could serve God better if I had
more money.
more energy.
more stamina.
more talent.
better health.
a better job.
better friends.
better opportunities.
better education.
better connections.
a better shape.
beauty.
prestige.
God replaces the unwanted elements of our lives as well as the deficits with His grace. Through and by the grace of Jesus, we have all we need. Again, 2 Corinthians 9:8 informs us that by grace we always have everything we need in abundance for everything God calls us to do! I know you read it already, but this passage bears repeating over and over until you know it by heart: “God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”
It’s important to note that this Scripture was written by the very apostle who learned to abound in the sufficiency of God’s grace. In 2 Corinthians 12:10, Paul said that through God’s grace he learned to “take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake.” And then he said, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Paul learned the greatness of relying on God’s grace. This grace takes away the limitations of our humanity and brings us into the realm of the divine. No longer does our time, talent, culture, intelligence, or education limit us, because grace compensates for every obstacle and deficit. By grace we can do what we’ve never been able to do before or have never felt capable of doing.
Like Paul, we must learn to rely on God’s grace by drawing on it daily in a variety of ways. The more we begin to rely on God’s grace above our own strength, the more our lives will take on a divinely spiritual demeanor.
The Blessing of Grace
One of the places we’re to access grace is in blessing and being a blessing. When God established the order of the Aaronic priesthood, He instructed the priests to bless the people. What has come to be known as the Aaronic blessing is recorded in Numbers 6:24-26:
“The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.”
God said this blessing of grace was how he would “put [His] name on the children of Israel” and “bless them” (Numbers 6:27).
We are to use God’s grace to bless His people. Paul began every epistle he wrote with a greeting almost the same as “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 1:7). He also ended every letter with a benediction of God’s grace. I printed some references below you’re welcome to look up or just observe to understand the importance of blessing others with God’s grace.
We bless others with God’s grace when we remind them of God’s grace toward them and we pray God’s grace over them.
In 1980, my dad heard someone sing the Aaronic blessing. He’d soon learned the song and began to teach it to the congregation at his church, Calvary Chapel. Then Dad, who ended every sermon with a blessing, began to implement the Aaronic blessing at the end of each service. After a benediction he would pray, and then he would sing the Aaronic blessing a cappella with the churchgoers singing along with him.
I was married in May 1980. My father chose to both walk me down the aisle and perform the ceremony. Then he and my mother commandeered my wedding plans. I wanted a small wedding at my brother’s church. They wanted a large wedding at Calvary with the whole church invited. I chose and mailed invitations to select friends and family. My dad put an announcement in the church bulletin, inviting all the congregants to come. Brian and I chose a couple to sing our favorite songs at the wedding. Dad politely dismissed them and asked another man and young women to sing my mother’s and his favorite songs from Fiddler on the Roof.
It might sound like they hijacked my wedding, and they did to a degree, but I was their youngest child and their last opportunity to have any input into one of their kids’ wedding ceremonies. Brian adored my mom and dad and wasn’t about to tell them no. So Fiddler on the Roof it was, and the whole church was invited. Two thousand people came on May 23 to watch Pastor Chuck’s youngest daughter get married.
My mom and dad had one more surprise for us. Mom later told me Dad shared the idea with her, and when she agreed they were both excited about it. At the end of the wedding ceremony, when Brian and I turned to face the audience, Dad presented us as Mr. and Mrs. Brian Brodersen. Then as soon as the applause died down, he began to sing in his beautiful baritone voice, “The Lord bless thee, and keep thee… ” The whole audience rose to their feet and began to sing it over us. It was awesome. It was a moment I’ll never forget.
Just before my father died, I longed for him to bless me as Jacob in the Bible had blessed his sons. However, I never had the opportunity to voice my desire. Dad was so ill with cancer, but he kept trying to push through and minister to others. He just added a myriad of doctor appointments, radiation, and chemotherapy to his already brimming schedule. I didn’t want to be one more demand on his life.
Then one Friday, after I’d taught the women’s morning Bible study, I learned he’d been readmitted to the hospital for cellulitis. I picked up a hamburger for his private nurse and went straight to the hospital. My oldest brother was already there, as well as Dad’s nurse. In the gentlest way possible, the doctor told my dad his body was riddled with cancerous tumors, and he gave him six weeks at the most to live. Dad was nonplussed at this news. He smiled at the doctor and thanked him. Then he asked him when he could eat again. The doctor freed him to eat, and he took the hamburger from me and relished each bite.
On Sunday, on oxygen and holding the podium for support, Dad preached his last sermon three services in a row. I was waiting at his house for him when he got home. He looked pale, weak, and stricken, and he went straight to bed. Though he was 86 at the time, somehow I still thought he would beat the cancer.
On Monday and Tuesday, he did his daily call-in radio program from his house. On Wednesday I woke up crying. I went to a surprise birthday party for a dear coworker and friend, but I couldn’t stop tearing up. On the way home I turned on the radio to reassure myself that Dad was okay, but he wasn’t on the radio. As soon as I got home, I called his house and talked to his nurse. She told me he wasn’t doing well, and my daughter and I rushed over to see him.
Dad was in his room, sitting in a recliner, hooked up to his oxygen and a blood pressure monitor. Although he appeared to be sleeping, he was slipping into a coma. Periodically his nurse would ask him if he was in any pain, if he wanted food, or if he was ready for a visitor. Dad would open his eyes and use all his reserves of strength to shake his head no.
My daughter and I sat on the floor just resting our hands on him. We were silent for the most part, only expressing our love to him in soft voices every now and then. My cousin and his wife came in, and we held hands and stood around my dad. We prayed. Then my cousin, a musician, suggested we sing over him. He began to sing a song, but unfortunately none of the rest of us, not even his wife, knew it.
Looking at me, my cousin asked, “Don’t you know this song?”
I said, “No, but I know this one.”
I began to sing the Aaronic blessing over my father. He opened his eyes wide and sang with full gusto, leading us all in the ancient blessing of grace. As soon as he sang the last word, his eyes closed, and he seemed to sink deep into the coma. We remained there for a few more hours, but Dad never woke, responded, or spoke after that song. It was dark when we finally left his home.
At three in the morning, the telephone next to my bed rang. It was my brother, explaining that Dad was now in the presence of Jesus. Perhaps it was the way he expressed it to me that made me say, “Praise the Lord.” It might have been the assurance that Dad was now in glory. He was freed from the confines of his weakness, machines, and the cancer. He was glorified and in glory. His corruption had put on incorruption, and his mortality had given way to immortality.
It was about a week later when my cousin approached me, saying, “Do you realize we were the last people to hear your dad sing? Steph [his wife] and I talked about it on the way here. What a miracle! Think about it. He sang a blessing over us!”
Then it hit me. I had wanted a blessing from my dad, but I chose to sing a blessing over him. Yes, Dad took over the song, just like he took over my wedding plans, but he gave the greater blessing.
God’s grace is the greatest blessing we can give to anyone.
Learn from Grace
In Titus 2:11-12, Paul states, “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.” In a previous chapter we talked about how grace produces the perfect atmosphere for learning. Here we learn grace is not only the perfect atmosphere but also a teacher. Grace, contrary to some people, doesn’t teach liberty to sin, but sobriety, righteousness, and godliness for the present times.
That’s right. Grace teaches us how to live godly lives. Morality is unable to reach into our hearts and teach us this godly behavior. Nor can the law truly teach us or amend our behavior. Both morality and the law are limited because they’re external and can do nothing for the heart. But grace penetrates our skin, enters the heart, and instructs us in the way of true godliness.
Imparting Grace
When I was in college, I went on a date with a young man who was studying to be a youth pastor. It seemed as though every other word from his mouth was an expletive. It was so jarring and embarrassing that I found myself wanting to bring the date to a quick close. Finally, at dinner I said, “I thought you said you want to be a youth pastor.”
“I did,” he replied, cheerily.
“So what do you do about the Scripture in Ephesians 4:29 that says, ‘Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers’?” To say that he was upset with me is an understatement. He began to justify himself and accuse me of being judgmental. I often think, If only he could have heard himself. I ran into him years later, after he had become a youth pastor, and he apologized and thanked me for challenging him. Obviously, he had learned grace in the meantime!
Our speech is to be gracious. It’s not to be corrosive in any measure. Gracious speech does not shame, condemn, or find faults. Gracious speech is not lewd, foul, or jarring. Jesus’s gracious words, as mentioned in Luke 4:22, were compassionate, attractive, and authoritative. Grace will affect what we talk about and the vocabulary we invoke when we speak.
That’s right. The more we understand God’s grace toward us and His gracious character, and the more we receive His grace, the more we’ll want to graciously speak about grace!
Gifts by Grace
Grace is how we receive divine gifts from God. In Romans 12:6 Paul writes, “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them.” The gifts and talents we possess are the benefits of God’s grace toward us. He’s given these gifts for the ministry He intends for us. They are from the surplus of the sufficiency of His grace.
When we realize our gifts are by His grace, it forces jealousy and envy out of our hearts. When we think the gifts and talents we have are ours by merit, however, we become exclusive, competitive, and envious:
Exclusive—because we don’t want anyone to have the gift but us, or we want to companion only with those who have the same gift.
Competitive—because we measure our gifting against others’ gifting.
Envious—because we think others’ talents are better than ours.
Without grace we can’t fully enjoy the wondrous gifts God has given to all His saints.
Too many of us are trying to be what my oldest son used to call “all that.” I’ll never forget the first time he used that phrase. He was talking about some kid at school who was acting superior to everyone else. “You know, Mom. He thought he was all that.” I got the picture when he explained how the boy challenged the other boys, put them down, and laughed at them. Yep. That kid thought he was “all that.”
Grace allows us to appreciate a gift God has given to someone else without feeling threatened that we lack that one gift. We can enjoy a beautiful voice even if we’re tone deaf. We can enjoy an author’s work even if we can’t write. Grace takes the threat away and frees us to look for, appreciate, and commend the divine gifts from God we see in others.
Grace also allows us to use our gifts without intimidation or conceit. Peter wrote, “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10). God’s grace is manifested in our lives through a variety of talents, strengths, and abilities. God’s grace is manifold. As good stewards, or guardians, of what He’s given to us, we use these gifts.
I have the blessing of serving with a variety of women at my church. I marvel at their different talents and how God brings us all together, using our various gifts to minister to the women in our body. I’ve come to realize God never puts all the gifts in one package. He gives different varieties of grace to each of His children so that only together can we fully display the beauty of His manifold grace.
Serving with Grace
This brings us to the subject of serving with grace. Grace is the power, wisdom, and strength by which we serve God acceptably with the gifts He’s given us. Hebrews 12:28 states, “Since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.” When we serve God with grace, we have the right attitude. We’re reverent without being self-righteous. We have godly fear without being fearful and condemned. We’re drawing from grace the attitude, energy, and motivation for service to God. We serve because of the grace God has shown to us. We serve with the grace God has given to us. We serve so we can show God’s grace to others. In so doing, grace naturally excludes complaining, quitting, and resentment.
Resting in Grace
Peter exhorted believers to “gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13). We are to rest in the grace of Jesus Christ. This is where we find our solace. Jesus will give us what we need. Jesus will take care of it. Our hope is to be fully invested in His grace.
Grace is the hope or certainty of our salvation. God’s grace is our constant hope or surety that, even in our present circumstances, “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Grace provides the hope for the answer to our prayers for those we love.
Commending to Grace
Leaving those we love is always difficult. I hate having to say “good-bye” to my grandchildren. I often worry about them as they attend public school. I pray for them every day, but more than that, I commend each of them to the grace of God.
As a traveling evangelist, Paul had to leave the churches he established to take the gospel to different cities. Often after he left a church, they would suffer persecution or be inundated by false teachers with false doctrine, but Paul was limited in his ability to protect the various fellowships. In those days, as you well know, no telephones existed, mail delivery was slow, and travel was difficult. So what did Paul do? He commended the churches to the grace of God: “From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had completed” (Acts 14:26).
Paul was confident grace would be able to keep them: “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32). God’s grace would finish the work Paul started, build them up in the apostle’s absence, and secure their place with all the believers.
We’re commending others to the powerful force of grace when we pray grace over them, bless them with grace, speak to them in grace, and minister to them by the gift of grace we’ve received. Grace can go beyond our limitations and do what we humanly are unable to do.
Do you ever feel limited in your ability to help others? Do you feel overly responsible for the welfare of others? Then you need to begin to commend others to God’s great grace.
God’s Great Grace
It’s time to draw from the resources of God’s grace, to begin to use these resources, and to become so proficient in them that they’re our first response to every situation. Use God’s grace when you need:
endurance
patience
love
energy
strength
wisdom
hope
peace
instruction
help
power
joy
encouragement
forgiveness
to forgive others
God never intended for us to live graceless lives, merely surviving and trying to please Him with our meager reserves of talents, resources, and strength. Not only are our reserves low, but they’re inadequate for spiritual service and lack the divine nature of God.
It’s time to begin to use the great surpluses of grace God has made available to you through Jesus Christ. The more you use the grace God has supplied to you, the more grace God will reveal to you—until you’re overflowing with grace!
Dear Lord, I have often come to the end of my reserves of patience, love, and endurance. I didn’t understand that You allowed me to run out of those reserves so I could receive more from Your divine supply of grace. I blamed myself. I asked You to remove my weaknesses and give me what I didn’t have. You offered me grace, but I didn’t understand its wealth and power. I ask now that You show me how and where to implement Your divine grace in my life. Let all that I do be done by the power of Your grace working through me so You will receive all the glory You so richly deserve. In Jesus’s name, amen.
For consideration:
1. List any items, characteristics, people, or things you’ve asked God to remove from your life.
2. In what area(s) of your life do you need to start employing grace?
3. Review the following Scriptures and share your insights about applying God’s grace:
• 2 Corinthians 12:9
• Numbers 6:24-27
• 2 Peter 3:18
• Ephesians 4:29
• 1 Peter 4:10
• 1 Peter 1:13
• Acts 20:32
4. In what areas of your life do you need to begin to draw from the grace of God?
5. List some ways you can begin to implement the power of grace in your life.
6. Do you need to commend to grace a person or situation?