MORE GRACE PLEASE!
James 4:6 NKJV
6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”
We live in a more culture. We seem to have a built-in need for more. Very few people do not want more money. Or more friends, more opportunities, more satisfaction and the list goes on. And there are some things we could all use more of. I am thinking of more peace, more joy, and more strength.
James shares with us God-inspired insight as to have more. The more James is talking about, is more grace. Grace is God’s favor toward us that we did not earn. And there is more to grace.
Grace is a big Bible word that encapsulates all that God has done for us in Christ. Depending on your religious experience , if you are familiar with an evangelical church, you know that it is by grace that we are saved. The beauty of God's grace is that He provided salvation for us through the cross and resurrection of Jesus. We neither earned nor deserved this salvation. Our salvation and becoming a new creation in Christ was all a function of God's grace. And grace does not stop with our salvation. Grace has provided all things that pertain to life and godliness. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:7 that in the ages to come, God will continue to show us the riches of His grace. None of us has exhausted all the grace of God for our lives.
Thankfully, James tells us the secret to having more of God's wonderful grace. Ready? It's humility. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Now, don't change that dial, or rather for our current internet day, don't close that tab! Humility is not what you have been conditioned to think. Humility is a willingness to acknowledge God as greater, smarter, and stronger than us, with much more insight as to the future. Humility is not low self-esteem. It is high God-esteem. It took humility for you and me to acknowledge a need for a Savior and to then receive Jesus as our Lord. Humility says I can't save myself, so I depend on the Lord.
Pride is the opposite of humility. Pride says I got this. I can do this. I don't need God; I can do it on my own. Pride, whether consciously or unconsciously, is a too high self-esteem and a too low God-esteem. And the sad thing is God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Many of us have encountered people who have boldly stated, "If God is real, prove it to me." The mere idea of a man defiantly standing up to the Creator of the heavens and earth, demanding that He prove His existence, is a high level of toxic pride. God does not strike these people dead for their arrogance, but neither do these people get grace.
A beautiful thing about our Father of mercy and compassion is that even with these arrogant, prideful people, if they will humble their hearts and acknowledge Jesus as their Savior, saving grace becomes theirs. Our Father is a good God.
APPLICATION
I certainly can make no claim to knowing all there is to know about God's grace. I do know that I need more of His grace to navigate this life and make a difference in my world. I also have to battle against that human tendency to think, "I got this."
So, a good rule of thumb is that whatever I am facing, I need to ask for more grace to overcome. I need grace for the strength to continue. Grace for knowing what to do. Grace for my relationships and grace for my place in the Body of Christ. I never want to reach a place where I don't need grace. More grace, please!
PRAYER
Father God, thank You that I have not exhausted Your grace for my life. Please show me where I have allowed pride to stop the flow of Your grace to me. I desire more grace, please!