Because of Grace
How can we say that God bestows grace to a believer?
Understanding God's Grace
Is it when a woman who, despite all her ordeals, hears the very first heartbeat of the child growing in her womb? What about a woman who, despite her earnest prayers, conceives for the first time, but loses her child so soon?
Does God love the first and despise the other? Did He favor the first and punish the other?
The former, being a close friend of mine, and the latter, being me, it was not easy for me to firmly believe that God is gracious to us both.
Actually, it would be impossible for me to grasp that God loves and favors us both in our contrasting gain and loss, if not for the work of grace itself.
Without Grace...
My dear sister, grace isn't displayed only when we receive from God the "good things" we pray for. Grace is what we already have in Christ Jesus as believers.
I have learned the hard way that this isn't easy to hold on to, especially when we think the worst has happened. But as we are humbled to perceive things through the lens of the Gospel, we remember:
As sinners, we don't deserve anything but death. (Rom. 6:23)
Because of Grace
But because of God's grace...
+ We were predestined and called to believe. (Rom 8:30)
+ We are led to repentance and granted forgiveness. (Rom. 4:6-8)
+ We are justified. (Rom. 3:24-26)
+ We are reconciled with God. (Rom. 5:9-11)
+ We are sanctified. (This includes the unfathomable way of God working out our suffering to conform us into His image, for His glory.)
+ And we will be glorified, all through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. (Rom. 8:28-30)
Indeed, "from His fullness we have all received grace upon grace" (John 1:16, ESV).
This Good News does not trivialize the pain of grief and loss, nor does it mean we'll no longer hope nor be grateful for temporal gifts from our Father. Rather, it shows us that no bad or good thing will ever outweigh our blood-bought identity and eternal hope as recipients of such amazing grace, through which we have become God's children and are forever called His own.
Want more encouragement?
Check out The Daughter of Delight Podcast!
