MOLD ME AND MAKE ME AFTER THY WILL
. . . WITH A NEW APPRECIATION FOR THE GIFT OF GOD’S GRACE
So thrilled was he by his new appreciation for the gift of God’s grace that Dwight L. Moody left his study abruptly and went to find somebody he could talk to about it. On the sidewalk outside his apartment, he grabbed a stranger by the arm and said, “My friend, do you know anything about grace!?”
Surprised, the man replied, “Grace who?”
Seizing upon this story about Dwight L. Moody, the preacher Jess Moody entitled his book, “Grace is not a Blue-eyed Blond.”
Why do we say that God is a “God of grace”? Peter spoke of the LORD as “the God of ALL grace, who called us to his eternal glory in Christ. To Him be the power for ever and ever”!
Sounds to me like grace is one of our most important Christian doctrines, if not the most important! Peter said that God is the “God of all grace” because, not only is God our Father gracious, in the sense that He gives good things, but His unmerited favor, toward all sinners, grants salvation to all who believe . . . Amazing grace!
We would have to say that God’s grace is synonymous with His love. “For God so loved that He gave . . . For by grace are you saved . . .”
God’s unmerited favor toward His creation sent Jesus to provide a way for sinners to be saved . . . sent Jesus to show sinners saved by grace how to live . . . raised Jesus from the dead to give hope to all who are in Christ, who live for Him.
Grace – God’s unmerited favor – saved us . . . teaches us how to live . . . will see us through, all the way home. This eternal nature of God’s grace is presented dramatically by Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians - in conjunction with his telling about a remarkable trip he made to heaven – 2 Corinthians 12:2-8 . . .
Have you ever made a trip to heaven . . . to the very abode of God . . . to the dwelling place of all saints who have gone before us? Do you know anyone who has? I suspect if you had had happen to you what Paul had happen to him, you would treat it as Paul did – cautiously yet forthrightly at the appropriate time.
Cautiously because of not wanting to appear to be boasting or to appear to be off his rocker, forthrightly at the right time when he considered that his telling of the experience would do the most good. “Visions and revelations of the LORD” was the heading he gave to his story of being “caught up” into the “third heaven”.
Vivid was Paul’s recollection of his once-in-a-lifetime rapture experience!
Yes, we may assume Paul witnessed the intermediary state of disembodied spirits of the redeemed of the LORD who had died – a blissful and desirable state, because it is said they are “at home with the LORD”; yet an imperfect state - until the day they receive their new, glorified, incorruptible resurrection body (2 Cor. 5:1-3, I Cor. 15:42ff, Phil. 3:20-21) - after which the redeemed of the LORD will shine forth in the full splendor of Christlikeness.
By means of this experience, Paul was granted a view of the indescribable glory that lies ahead; and, thereby, he was granted strength so he could patiently endure all the adversities he encountered. Thus, he now knows that the sufferings of this present age are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to come! (Rom. 8:18 and 2 Tim. 4:8)
Yes, Paul could “boast” as did his rivals, if he wanted to, but rather, Paul chose to speak only of his weaknesses. He felt that he could be more effective if he showed people that he was like them (humanly speaking) and not above them (spiritually speaking) which is what they might have thought had he gone around boasting of the supernatural experience granted to him by the LORD God.
What the old apostle can now tell them unashamedly and unapologetically is that, whereas he like they was subject to physical sufferings and Satanic attacks, his remarkable rapture occurred by divine power so that they might be assured without reservation that God is in control and will have the last say-so as to the future of His people, the redeemed. Lessons learned:
What Satan intends for harm, God uses for good. We may desire that the LORD remove hardships from us, but if He doesn’t, be patient, wait on the LORD. One thing that hardships do for us is that they keep us from being filled with pride and even lead us into a deeper personal relationship with the LORD our God.
What did all this recounting of his vision and revelation from the LORD lead the old apostle to? 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 . . . It led to a Promise!
Would you please latch onto and hold onto the promise God gave to Paul and to us? God promised: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Translation: God helps us by His grace to endure anything!
Why did the LORD deny Paul’s request to remove whatever his “thorn in the flesh” was? Well, in this case, God’s denial of Paul’s request turned out to be to Paul’s greater good because it was to God’s greater glory.
God is glorified when His people recognize His unmerited favor, even when it is not deserved, and rely on the spiritual strength He gives us to be content with what He has provided, firmly believing that the work God began in us He will bring to completion when we all get to heaven – for real, not a vision.
Paul would rejoice in his weakness and troubles in exchange for the joy and privilege of having the power of Christ within, over, around, and before him!
May the power of Christ become evident to us in our times of weakness . . . frailty . . . trouble! May our weakness become our strength because we recognize that God is at work in it for our good.
None of us wants to suffer or face hardships! However, we know that such things are part of life. While they may be unavoidable, they do not have to defeat us. In fact, God may use them to strengthen our faith and draw us closer to Him.
We discover, as did Paul, that in our weakness we can become strong, with a renewed resolve to endure, because God’s grace is sufficient to see us through. We have His promise! God promised it; that settles it; I believe it and cling to it!
John Newton, after a life-rescuing experience, believed it and clung to it.
Newton had been abused as a lad and grew up to become a profane man, the vilest of sinners. As the captain of a slave trade ship, his “great deliverance” occurred in 1748 on a voyage to England from Africa.
While he attempted to steer his ship thru a violent storm, all seemed lost, and he thought the ship would surely sink, but he cried out in the darkness of his despair, “LORD, have mercy upon us!”
Later in his cabin, he reflected on his survival and it dawned on him that the LORD God had addressed him thru the storm and that by the grace of God he had been saved. Thus, he wrote, “Thru many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; ‘tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.”
On the timeline of your life, there have been times of crisis and hardship; and as you review those experiences, you realize that the grace of God brought you through your “toils and snares”, and now you are convinced more than ever that the grace of God will lead you Home. God’s grace is indeed sufficient! Amen.
