Grace upon Grace

All through the book of Deuteronomy, the people of God were told to remember. Remember where God found you. Remember His faithfulness. Remember that He spared no expense to deliver you out of slavery that He might bring you into your promised land.

Each time I read Moses’ words to the Israelites as they stood on the edge of their promise, I cannot help but hear these same words spoken over me.

“Remember.”

We are all prone to forget. One moment we stand in praise of Jesus after He did some crazy awesome thing in our life. And the next moment, fear comes when we face uncertainty, and we forget that Jesus had just parted the Red Sea on our behalf.

Just like the nation of Israel, we are called to remember. Remember who our God is. Remember His heart toward us. Remember the gospel and the cross. Remember His mercy, His love, His kindness, and His grace toward us.

John 1:16 tells us, “…from [Jesus’] fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” The grace of God is often spoken about in church circles, but how often do we stop to consider the significance of that grace? Again, John 1:16 says we have received grace upon grace. Grace greater than anything we can think or imagine.

Think about that for a moment.

It was the grace of God that relentlessly pursued us in our rebellion. God had every right to abandon us, but instead, He made a way back to Himself––a way that required Him to lay down the life of His Son––that we might be with Him.

We are called by His grace.

It is by grace that we believe and are saved.

It is by grace that we are forgiven and reconciled to God.

We are justified by grace.

We are strengthened and sustained by grace.

All the promises of God rest on His grace.

And His grace is given in spite of us. Truly, how many times have we turned away? How many times have we sought other things? How many times have we turned to the world or other people or ourselves or things to satisfy our longings that only He can satisfy?

Instead of going to Jesus, we call a friend. We go shopping. We go to our pantry looking for something sweet or salty when we’re feeling a bit overwhelmed. Or maybe we have an extra glass of wine or take those sleeping pills or pain pills.

All to in an attempt to feel full. Complete.

And yet He’s still there. He’s been there all along, just waiting for us to turn and be saved.

Saved from our sinful ways.

From the lies were told by Satan or the world.

From ourselves.

We were once rebels and enemies of God, but we have been adopted into the family of God. Let that sink in for a moment. Jesus loved His enemy, both you and I, to the point of death, and because of that, we are now children of God. We’re chosen, made holy, and set free as the mysteries of the great exchange take place within out heart, mind, and soul. We’ve been made clean––white as snow. His righteousness is now ours.

Jesus tells us as He told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 9:8). And so we rest in His grace. We allow Him to cover us. To fill us. And we remain in Him. Because after all, this is the place of blessing. The place where the grace of God is poured out.

Grace upon grace.

And in this place, I pray each of us echo Paul’s words when he said, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:10).

Remember, God is so very good to us. He is for us in ways we can hardly fathom.

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” – Hebrews 4:16

I’d love to hear your thoughts! Share them in the comments.