Here are the final words of the Bible: “The grace of our Lord Jesus be with all. Amen” (Rev 22:21).
As you probably know, many NT books end with the same blessing. The writer prays that God’s grace or Christ’s grace would be with believers. Most of the NT books begin with a similar blessing. Why? Because grace is what we need for everything in our lives. Christ’s grace in our spirits is what sustains us. Apart from His grace, we are nothing and can do nothing. Every heartbeat and breath, involuntarily occurring, is an act of His grace.
As we’re more tempted to be afraid and as we’re stripped of all our normal routines, our true treasures are revealed, aren’t they? I’m discovering that I’m the same sinner I was 10 days ago as I am today. Hopefully, I can see more of that reality. And this too is God’s grace. He’s certainly not causing the fear in our hearts or forcing our hand to sin (cf. 1 Cor 10:13; Jas 1:13-15). But in His gracious providence, He’s bringing adversity into our lives so that our sinful responses would reveal what we actually trust in, what we actually value.
But in this exposure, He doesn’t leave us; He doesn’t mock or berate us. He just supplies more and more grace…specific grace to repent of our heart’s idols, to trust in specific promises fit for the moment, to endure a trial by faith, and to love others when we want to focus on ourselves.
Trust me, I know how hard it is to believe what I’ve just written. When fear or some other sinful emotion overwhelms us, we don’t naturally turn to Christ and His word. We freak out, we get depressed, we get angry. Then we feel guilty for not turning to Christ. And that guilt bars us from going to the One who is grace. But even there, in the pit, Jesus is there with us, always there, “even to the end of the age” (Matt 28:20).
Even with all our idols, we can come to Him for forgiving grace. And He will forgive and cleanse us completely right then and there (1 Jn 1:9). This is just one aspect of His manifold grace (1 Pet 4:10). So, we’ll never need to worry that He won’t have enough grace or that it’ll be the wrong kind. Our Father knows exactly what we need and when we need it. And His heart is more than eager to give it. He is “the God of all grace” (1 Pet 5:10).
So…in these hard times, may the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all today, right now.
