Praying Grace for WomenSample

A Mystery Revealed

It is Thursday morning, September 8, 1504, in Florence Italy. In the center of the city’s Piazza della Signoria, stands a mystery. Overnight, in the heart of the cobblestone plaza, a 17-foot tall “something” has appeared and is shrouded in a massive sheet of linen cloth.

Among the people of Florence, there is widespread speculation and debate about what that sheet hides. The way the sheet hangs offers only a few hints about this new thing’s nature and purpose.

Later that day, city officials gather to reveal the mystery to the intrigued public. The unveiling introduces the world to something the famous artist Michelangelo has been secretly laboring over for more than two years. A hard tug on the cover reveals... his iconic sculpture of David.

For thousands of years, the true nature of God was similarly shrouded in mystery. Sure, there were a few tiny hints and glimpses of Him in the ancient Scriptures. But who God was and what He was like remained largely unknown.

We no longer have to wonder about God’s nature, character, or disposition. Jesus was God revealed. In today’s key verse, He declares, “anyone who has looked at me has seen the Father” (John 14:9 TPT). And “I only do the works that I see the Father doing” (John 5:19 TPT). In other words, we don’t have to wonder about God’s ways and temperament. Jesus displayed them.

On every day of His earthly ministry, Jesus loved, healed, received, welcomed, forgave, blessed, delivered, and comforted. With the frail and fragile, He was gentle. With the desperate, He was available. With the unlovely, He was kind. With the outcast, He was accepting. He invariably saw the ones everyone else overlooked.

Late in his life, John also wrote: “We saw him with our very own eyes. We gazed upon him and heard him speak. Our hands actually touched him, the one who was from the beginning, the Living Expression of God” (1 John 1:1 TPT).

At the appearance of the Son of God, the concealing sheet was pulled from the mysterious masterpiece. Through His own life, love, and words, Jesus unveiled a living, breathing image of the God who adopted you and made you His own.

Prayer of Declaration:

Father, forgive me for ever doubting Your goodness or approaching You as if You are anything other than kind. From this day forward, I will ever be mindful that Jesus clearly displayed Your character and Your values. You long to heal, deliver, rescue, restore, and resurrect. You always have. This is who You are.

Get ready to discover grace for rest, intimacy, peace, and breakthrough, as well as the keys to praying from strength rather than struggling for it. Additional meditations and declarations await you in Praying Grace for Women by David A. Holland. Learn more at https://bit.ly/PrayingGraceforWomenBook.