I have friends who like to ensure that they are constantly reminding themselves and others about the grace of God. The way they do this is to append a simple phrase to many of their sentences. What was at one time a deliberate decision has, over time, become a habit. A good habit, I think.
“How have you been lately?” “I’ve been doing well, by God’s grace.”
“How did you do with your personal devotions this week?” “By God’s grace, I read and prayed every day.”
“You asked me to pray about your battle against sin in this area. How did it go last week?” “It went really well, by God’s grace.”
It’s easy to overlook a little phrase like that. It’s easy to let it be little more than background noise, quickly filtered out. But a couple of weeks ago it was like I heard it again for the first time: “By God’s grace.” It’s a beautiful thing! It is an acknowledgement that without the sweet grace of God, the very opposite would be true. It is an acknowledgement of utter dependency upon God.
I am healthy today, instead of deathly ill today, only because God has extended grace to me.
I was able to spend time in the Bible this week, and I was able to be committed to prayer this week, only because God reached out to me in his grace. Without that grace I would have run far and fast.
I did not succumb to that ongoing temptation this week, and instead was able to do those things that honor God, and only because God gave me the grace to put off sin and put on righteousness.
Without God’s moment-by-moment grace I would be this way, but with the existence of God’s constant, powerful grace, I am this way instead.
By God’s grace.
Image credit: Shutterstock
