To God's commands and a deep sense of or inadequacies, someone might say, “This is hard! I just don’t understand how God can expect these kinds of things from me and just leave me out here to fend for myself! How can I love what God loves and hate what God hates? That’s impossible! This world pulls at me everyday to do the things I used to do, say the things I used to say and go where I used to go and frankly. . .there are times when I’m too weak too fight and it’s easier to give in, even if I don’t want to. How can I be wise the way He wants to be wise? I’m not wired that way! How am I supposed to be like that?”
And to you James says,
“But he gives more grace. . .God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
I love this passage. It’s one that’s given great comfort when I was in my room alone and feeling inadequate. This is not a question, it’s a declaration. This isn’t “saving grace”, every Christian has that kind of grace; without it we wouldn’t be saved. The word here literally means “greater grace”—it’s the grace God gives us to live the way He calls us to live while we’re alive in the world.
The writer of Hebrews says,
“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” (Heb 4:16)
Pauls says, in Romans chapter 5,
“But where sin increased, grace increased all the more” (Rom 5:20)
And Saint Augustine says,
“God gives what he demands.”
There is always more grace. God is endless and so His grace is endless too. Remember the words to “Amazing Grace” by John Newton,
Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come: ‘Tis grace has brought
Me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.
There’s always more. Whatever your situation is: getting through the loss of a loved one, being away from home, being kind to a co-worker who is nothing but mean to you, doubt and fear because your financial situation seems “shaky” or “uncertain”. God gives grace and more grace. For practical reasons, we can say that God helps us. He gives us strength when we’re weak, peace when we’re anxious and nervous, contentment when we’re tempted to covet.--those are all outpourings of God’s grace.
This grace; is it given because of who we are? Is it given even because we need it? Yes it's given because we need--God knows His children need more grace and He gives it to them, in their time of need. But, this grace is given all-because-of Jesus! Because of the goodness and finished work of Christ, we are recipients of God's grace. Who will deliver me from this body of death (and give me help?) Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
