Grace Always Comes Before Peace

The Lord will give strength to his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace. ---Psalm 29:11
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ---Ephesians 1:2

I was raised in a denominational church that always gave the definition of Grace as “unmerited favor.” For some reason, I could never wrap my arms around that. It just didn’t connect with what was going on with me. Then, I heard another definition which simply breaks down "unmerited favor" that made delightful sense and opened up my understanding of how God wants to work with us. Think of Grace like this: The ability to do things that you otherwise would not be able to do without God’s help.

With an understanding of how God wants you to succeed, wants you to break through barriers in your life, He wants you to be equipped to handle anything life throws at you, He wants you to be victorious in your career, you health, your relationships. God desires that you continue developing mentally and spiritually toward the destiny that He has in for you in this life. With that understanding, you will need His grace to enable you to be successful in all those areas.

Why do people, especially believers, think God is behind the bad things that happen to good people? God’s desire is that we succeed, but we have to do our part. We behave like a “saint” by accepting God’s love and the ultimate sacrifice of His only Son (Jesus) so that whoever believes in Him will be forgiven and live forever in eternity with Him. (Debbie’s version of John 3:16) Once we are “Believers” God will be very involved in your life, if you let Him. He will grace you to move forward with your dreams, give you boldness to stand up for God and His values, He will grace you to speak His thoughts and step out in faith on many matters.

When we start walking in God’s grace, then peace will automatically come. Yes, we will still have to live in this world and deal with people, finances, circumstances, but God will grace you through them. There will be a peace that no one will understand because you are functioning with God directing you. Situations won't upset you because you know God will take care of them. A bad doctor's report won't shake your world because you know God is the Healer. If you get a termination notice from your job, you will remember God is the Provider. You will be graced to walk through that time knowing that God has promised to take care of you. And with that a different kind of peace will accompany you during that time.

My son has been without a steady job for six months and very little income. His wife is a nurse with a good job, but their debt load far exceeds their income. Inwardly they were dealing with human emotions, but never showed any doubt or unbelief that God was going to walk before them and bring them to the best place because they are obedient to God and trust Him with all their heart. In the natural, their situation was dismal, but their faith (spoken words) demonstrated an incredible measure of peace. With God’s grace, they walked through this time. Yesterday, he was offered a full-time permanent job as the director of a department of a governmental agency. Did they make sacrifices, you bet they did! Did they question God? No doubt there were questions. But they never stopped believing that God was a God of His Word.

How about you? Will you let God’s grace help you through your circumstances? Will you trust and wait patiently, knowing that God is bound to you through His covenant to provide, protect and heal you? Try it by starting today.

Confession: Father, I trust that you will walk with me through today and the days ahead. I will not get ahead of you and will wait patiently for you to make the crooked places straight. But to do that, I need your grace. Your ability to work with and through me to do the things I can’t do in my own human-ness. Thank You Father.