Understanding God's GRACE

People are confused with God's grace. People thinks grace is based on efforts while Grace actually is the opposite.

I learned grace by applying myself what Peter wrote in In 2 Peter, Chapter 1, verses 5 through 9: "make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

Our greatest teachers are circumstances because they train us into spiritual growth occurred in the most unfavorable of circumstances. When we most aware of our weaknesses, we are more inclined to collapse into God's strength and experience His amazing grace. "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor. 12:9).

Only God can help us overcome situations as long as we trust in His GRACE. The question here is, when God given you the grace to handle the sufferings of life, did you allowed Him? That's the issue. I have learned that it is God's will to submit to the Holy Spirit and keep on filling me (Ephesians 5:18). Like an athlete when training, I should always keep drinking water so that I won't be dehydrated and feeling weak. With that thought in my mind, I should always keep filling the Holy Spirit in my life so that I am able to act and react any difficulties in my life with God's power (Grace). The power of Grace through the Holy Spirit is my strength that I am able to boast and win for Christ at all costs (see 2 Corinthians 12:1-12).

For me, through prayers and learned through my trials, GRACE is a wonderful feeling. I have learned to fully trust God because this requires an understanding of God's sovereign grace. God promised not to allow anything into in my life that will be too much for me to bear (1 Cor. 10:13), to work out everything for my good in the end (Rom. 8:28), and "perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish" me in the midst of my suffering (1 Pet. 5:10). I have learned that a TRUE believer is to know that all difficulties are within God's purpose and to thank Him for His available power and promises. First Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you" (NIV). I have learned to be thankful for His providence, His promise of perfecting me, the glory He will receive from accomplishing His will, and for past mercies that are the promise of future blessings. Being thankful releases me from fear and worry EVERYDAY. The presence of worry could mean a believer doesn't understand who God is. In my life, I have learned to trust every situation to God's sovereign control.

The main thing to understand is: If you understand that God will supply all your needs (Phil. 4:19) and that He knows everything about your life (Ps. 139:3), cares about you (1 Pet. 5:7), has the power for every difficulty (Ps. 62:11), is perfecting YOU to be like Christ (Phil. 1:6), and that nothing escapes Him (Ps. 147:5), that will lead you to be stable, not anxious living.

God's grace is beautiful once you put trust in His Sovereign and forget your "efforts" to survive in this world. Efforts means "I don't need grace, I have to use my faith to earn to get my blessings and grace."

God's GRACE is POWERFUL and WONDERFUL
Circumstances may appear to wreck our lives and God's plans, but God is not helpless among the ruins. God's love is still working. He comes in and takes the calamity and uses it victoriously, working out His wonderful plan of love. Eric Liddell

Over the years, God have been aware of my sufferings and sometimes allow me to go through very difficult things so I can get my priorities straight from my will "to HIS WILL". God wants me to become more like His Son, Jesus, fellowship with other believers with humility. My suffering is masked by my healthy appearance. I may not be in a wheelchair and I can hear pretty normal with the help of hearing-aids. My pain and disability are real and chronic. I have learned that God's purpose in redeeming us is not to make our lives happy, healthy, and free of trouble.

I have learned to overcome my circumstances into positive and focus on God's glory. I have learned that my spiritual outlook is to be on God and trust that God's glory that will be revealed. I often have to remind myself that if I frequently "relive my reasons for discouragements", I will lose my positive spiritual direction through God's GRACE. Romans 8:28 basically means "Christian should always have hope" and later in Romans 15:13, "Hope comes from the Holy Spirit." I often remember that I am not alone and that my life should not feed on the negatives and that I should be focusing on positives. God's knowledge of my discouragements is more than just knowledge; His knowledge is more personal, warm, and compassionate. He knows every pains I face everyday. I have been pressing on toward the goal to win the prize for which God called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14). My Christian walk is a fight of Faith, I have to understand that living (walking) by faith, I have accepted the purposes and plans of God however He saw fit. Reading Hebrews helped me understood that I am to be aware of obstacles and hindrances I will meet during my life, to throw me off balance that hinders doing the Will of God that could entangle my life easily if I do not submit myself to God's power of grace. God's grace is more than sufficient in my life that I am to fix my eyes on Jesus who is my author and perfecter of my faith (Hebrews 12:2). Faith and Grace together is to "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14, NIV). What have motivated me, as a former athlete (I am 47 yrs old ) like an athlete who trains for the Olympics to win a gold medal such self-discipline and willing to face the endurance of my life. Jesus have provided everything I needed. Jesus is all we need. Have faith and God will provide according to His Will. 2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 But God said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Philippians 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Remember, God will provide all of our needs according to HIS WILL.

Paul's Letters and aware of his afflictions that we can learn much truth from such trials, some of it depressing and some altogether elevating and wonderful. The regenerate man often has a more difficult time of it than the unregenerate because of spiritual warfare. Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. God uses suffering to perfect His power as verse 9 said "Power is perfected in weakness". God is saying "You should not have self-confidence and trust in yourself in the sense you believe you're capable of anything eternal that only I can provide grace and power." Only God can overcome situation as long as you trust in His GRACE. The question here is, when God given you the grace to handle the sufferings of life, did you allowed Him? That's the issue.

Christ was the perfect example of the healthy normal man, He did not live a normal life. He sacrificed many pure enjoyments to the holy work of moral rescue. That example taught me that the needs of the world and my ability to minister to those needs. God is not primarily an emotion, but an act of the will that true Christian love is the love of willing, not the love of feeling. It's the devil who would like to make our life superficial prosperous, superficial successful, superficial happiness and superficial peace because then we pride ourselves with pride so others can see how much faith we have. God's power is GRACE and that is where my faith is.