Grace: An Ever Constant Working

Hi blog readers!  It's been so long since I posted.  I apologize if you've missed my posts but know that this space was always meant for me to be a place to share what God is teaching me when He prompts me to share it with others.  Seems like there are seasons when He has more of that planned.  Rest assured I have been hearing Him speak into my life often, but for whatever reason have not felt called to share it.  So don't worry if you don't hear from me regularly; God willing I'll be back with more of what He speaks when He asks me to share it.

Today He asked me to share so here I go...

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain.  On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
1 Corinthians 15: 10 ESV

 Let's take this a phrase at a time and break it down, reading it slow to suck out everything we can!

We are what we are by grace.  Do you ever think you are a mistake?  God in His holiness purposed your life and made you on purpose.  With all your flaws.  Why did He allow those in there if His creation is perfect?  It is because of His grace.  If you are under the cross, living in a state of accepting His sacrafice for you, then His grace covers all your imperfections.  In fact you need those for His light and perfectness to shine out of you.  He designed you by grace, knowing grace would be enough and preach to the world the whole made out of brokenness.

His grace toward me was not in vain.  It wasn't and will never be.  That means the grace, His forgiveness, mercy, and blessing beyond what we deserve, is always pursuing us, going to us, working out in us the perfect from the imperfect.  It's always effective and fruitful.  In always has an effect.  It always accomplishes what God has for us.  It will never fail or end.  It is constantly moving wave by wave over His people, bringing Son-bleached light into the dark cobwebs of our heart.

On the contrary I worked harder than any of them (the other apostles)...why did Paul "work" hard?  He was the least, in that he had persecuted the church, killed his future spiritual family.  Before he worked with them building them up, he worked against them, tearing them down.  That made him other...in what he had done before meeting Christ and being laid low on the road to Damascas.  The funny thing is the work that he did was not actually him.  If says next that it wasn't him working at all, but the grace working. Grace means not working or earning, but the free gift of God's undeserved favor.   It worked harder in him, because he was constantly tempted to doubt that he was worthy to bring the gospel to anyone.  Beloved that may be you.  How many times has the enemy whispered at the door of your heart that you are nothing.  That you are worse than nothing disqualified to be loved and to share His love with others?  How could He love you?

The answer to this deep fear is met on the cross.  His love was spread wide and nailed to a cross.  If God did not love you, would He still have sent His Son and given Him all your dirty shame? He saw the grace He would adorn you with, and the beauty He would behold you with.  The sight was so precious to Him, Hebrews 12 says He endured the cross scorning it's shame to be with you forever.

The greater the sin, the failings, the hate and pain, the greater righteousness, success, love and joy you will feel and can walk in.  If Christ is in you, His grace is in you, and will always rise above the lows you have walked through.  So hold your head high and embrace the grace that is waiting for you.  A never ending flow, deeper and and greater than any offense.

How sweet it is to trust you Lord
I'm learning how to trust you more
I will trust in the *grace of the Lord my God...
Christy Nockels
Leaning on you Jesus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7Ccw6aIVV0

*I inserted name to grace here as that's how the Spirit through this verse prompted me to sing it today :-)

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