Set Your Sails for Lavish Grace

God’s grace is more than enough to help us deal with our most painful thorns. It is more than adequate to deal with our prideful attitudes. It is utterly sufficient to overcome the attacks of the Evil One. He is a defeated foe, and God’s abundant grace, through Christ’s finished work and his glorious resurrection, has conquered death and hell.

The question remains, “How then do we access this lavish grace?”

Auckland, where I live is sometimes called “The City of Sails.” That’s because it is situated between two magnificent harbors and many people in our city have sailboats. The thing about classic sailboats is that they are wind dependent. You may hoist your sail, but if there is no wind you don’t go anywhere. And if you don’t hoist the sail, you may have a good mast, but again, no progress.

I like that analogy when it comes to us accessing God’s super-abundant grace. To connect with God’s always-available grace, we need to hoist our sails. There’s effort involved. As 2 Peter 1:3-9 indicates, God has made all his power available to face every life challenge (v. 3). He has more than adequately done his part. But we still need to make every effort (v. 5) to grow in grace.

Practically, how do we do that? One way is to soak in Scripture, which is what these “You Version” devotionals make available. Then there’s the daily discipline of reading, reflection, and application. It’s as if, each day you are hoisting your sail and waiting for the wind of God’s Spirit. Another is the discipline of gathering with other believers to listen to God’s Word and sing his praises. Others include the discipline of fasting, silence, and solitude.

It's not as if it all depends on us being disciplined enough to hoist our sails. These just amount to us putting ourselves in the pathway of God’s lavish grace. Remember, it’s grace—unearned, undeserved favor that is ours in Christ. And there is an abundant supply.

He is the God of all grace (1 Peter 5:10).

His call for you today is to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 2:1-2).

That grace was what made all the difference to Paul when he was given a painful thorn in his flesh. “This thorn,” he would say, “was to deal with my prideful heart. I repeatedly cried out to God to remove it. It was so humbling, so painful. I felt so weak, so dependent. He gave me something much better—a daily experience of his lavish grace. I’m daily living joyfully in the truth that when I am weak, then am I strong."

Excerpts from The Point of Your Thorns: Finding Purpose in Your Pain (Chapter 12).

By Rowland Forman

https://www.amazon.com/Point-Your-Thorns-Finding-Purpose/dp/1991194803/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1686704977&sr=8-1