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How Do You Get God’s Sustaining Grace?
What do you do when you can’t fix an unfixable problem? What do you do when you can’t solve an unsolvable riddle? What do you do when you can’t change an unchangeable circumstance?
You throw yourself on the sustaining grace of God.
How do you get the kind of grace to keep going in spite of temptations, trials, tension, tiredness, and troubles? You do four things:
1. Cry out for God’s help. As long as you pretend to be self-sufficient, you short-circuit God’s power in your life. “[God] gives grace to the humble. So give yourselves completely to God …. Come near to God, and God will come near to you” (James 4:6b-8a NCV).
2. Fill your mind with God’s Word. Let it comfort you, strengthen you, fill you, and give you the energy you need to keep going. David prayed, “I lie in the dust; revive me by your word” (Psalm 119:25 NLT).
3. Accept support from God’s people. The Bible says that “by helping each other with your troubles, you truly obey the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2 NCV). God puts weaknesses in our lives so we realize how much we need each other. He never meant for you to go through life on your own.
4. Hold on to God’s promises. There are more than 7,000 of them in the Bible waiting to be claimed. Here’s one of them: “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youth grow tired and weary … but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:29-31 NIV). Keep your eyes focused on the hope of Heaven, not just on the here and now.
Where do you need God’s sustaining grace today? Where are you discouraged and feel like giving up? Are you being tempted? Or are you tired and think, “I don’t think I can put one foot in front of the other.” Or are you under tension, in trials that you can’t fix? No matter what you’re going through, God’s grace will sustain you if you’ll let it.
“Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness’” (2 Corinthians 12:8-9a NLT).
When you’re going through a problem you can’t fix, don’t give up — look up!
About this Plan
The Bible says, “What we see now is like a dim image in a mirror; then we shall see face-to-face” (1 Corinthians 13:12). In this series, Pastor Rick explains eternal realities and the choices you must make to determine your eternal destiny and how you should live on this side of eternity.
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