Humble Enough to Receive

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace
[Who imparts all blessing and favor],
Who has called you to His [own] eternal glory in Christ Jesus,
will Himself complete and make you what you ought to be,
establish and ground you securely,
and strengthen, and settle you.”

1 Peter 5:10

Grace, one of the most spoken of and sung about words in Christianity. It is of such a great importance that all but three of the New Testament letters begin and end with the request for God’s grace to be upon the reader. Even the very last words of the Bible reflect this desire: “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all” (Revelation 22:21).

God’s grace is not a new concept to me. Many times I have seen his flavor, blessing, and kindness cover my mistakes, or enable me to do what was far beyond my ability. Many times I have felt his peace, joy, or kindness well up within me when it didn’t make sense–when I knew these feelings didn’t come from my own emotions.

And yet, I can also find myself in a place of desperation, crying out from my depths, “Father, how do I find your grace? God, show me what your grace really means.” In this place I know without a doubt that I cannot move forward or function unless God’s presence intervenes. I can see the dark waters surging over my head.

One time as I cried out to understand, the Spirit led me to James 4:6: “God sets Himself against the proud and haughty, but gives grace [continually] to the lowly (those who are humble enough to receive it).”

You know, it is not until we are naked of his grace for a moment that we truly begin to comprehend the depth of what we had. The line between standing under the mighty shadow of God’s blessing and favor and being exposed to the destruction of the enemy is very thin. God’s grace is indeed sufficient to get us through any and every situation we encounter, but we must be in a place to receive that sufficiency.

God’s grace is constantly flowing from his throne. We can’t stop it. It is a part of his very nature. Ephesians 1:7-8 proclaims that we have been saved, delivered, and forgiven by the blood of Jesus because of God’s generous and rich grace, which he has lavished upon us. And yet we must choose every minute to be in the place of receiving, walking, and living in that flow.

How do we choose? Humility. It isn’t enough to assume. It doesn’t work to become lazy and take God’s grace for granted. We must choose each day to lay our life down and take up his life, allowing his thoughts, his plans, and his purposes to be manifested in and through us. We must humble ourselves before him, knowing that he is perfect. Then we will stand under the waterfall of his amazing grace!

“Come close to God and He will come close to you…Humble yourselves
[feeling very insignificant] in the presence of the Lord,
and He will exalt you
[He will lift you up and make your lives significant]”

James 4:8, 10