365 Days of Glory

Day 169

“The Lord reigneth;
let the people tremble”
Psalm 99:1

God’s plan and purposes were not defeated when man fell. His plan and purposes are not thwarted by the wickedness of man or by the devil. The world, the flesh and sin do not change, delay, or defeat God’s plan. No, there is nothing, absolutely nothing on earth, in the universe or the heavens that can or will stop the fulfillment of God’s Divine plan. God is sovereign and rules over all according to His purposes.

The Lamb was “slain from the foundation of the world” [Rev. 13:8] with the explicit purpose to rescue man from sin and wickedness. God had provision before man knew he needed it! In fact, neither man nor the devil can resist God. The psalmist declared, “Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee: the remainder of wrath shalt Thou restrain” [Psalm 76:10].

All this magnifies His grace. In spite of rebellion, wickedness and sin, grace is offered free to us who are undeserving and not worthy of it. Not only is grace free, it is sovereign – it is bestowed on whom He pleases. He breaks down the walls of sin and resistance. He stands against the opposition of the human will not to serve Him. He subdues the flesh of man and in love causes us to love Him. It is irresistible grace. And our being chosen manifests His glory.

“He hath chosen us in Him before
the foundation of the world . . .to the
praise of His glory of grace, wherein He
hath made us accepted in the Beloved”
Ephesians 1:4-6

Day 166

“While we were still weak, at the right time
Christ died for the ungodly . . . But God
proves His love for us in that while we
still were sinners Christ died for us”
Romans 5:6-8

Even if we understand grace, it is still difficult to grasp the fullness of its meaning to us. There is a never-ending drive in the nature of man to believe he must do something to gain anything. But the ultimate and complete truth about grace is that there is nothing, absolutely nothing, we can do to gain it. God has given us grace freely, and as John Timmer says, grace is a scandal. It is a scandal to man.

Was Paul looking for God as he rode his horse to find Christians and punish or kill them? Was Matthew looking for Christ while collecting taxes? Were you looking for Christ when he came? No, we were dead in our sins! Yet, God comes to us before we go to Him. Yes, it is God who seeks us. He found Abraham as an old man, Moses on the backside of a mountain, David in the pasture, Gideon hiding, Zaccheus in the tree, Peter fishing, and Lazarus in a grave. Not one of these, including you, can or could do anything to make yourself right with God.

Grace, oh, what a great offense against our arrogance, pride and self-sufficiency! It is God Himself that has made you right through the bloody sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ! He came to us. He first loved us. He initiated the process. He called us out of death by grace. And the power of that grace saved us.

“To the praise of the glory of His grace,
wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved”
Ephesians 1:6