SO, WHAT IS GRACE?
I have studied faith for many years; I have lived by faith, not by sight. I have relied on my faith to have the strength to ask God for much needed miracles: miracles for strength, for food, for knowledge, for healing, for help in every domain imaginable in my life. I love the concept of faith so much that my daughter’s name is Faith.
Recently, God showed me that our faith can become an idol. How? When we are relying more on our faith than His Grace, it has become an idol. If we have all the faith in the world, but we have lost sight of His Grace (which activates our faith; it is the fuel of our faith), our faith loses its power.
Over the last several weeks, God has shown me that Peter had a ton of faith. He had more faith than the other disciples; he had enough to actually walk on water. I’ve always said that Peter got distracted by the wind and the waves which is why he began to sink. God showed me that yes, he got distracted by the wind and the waves, but he really got distracted by focusing more on the level of his own faith rather than on the unlimited supply of Jesus’ Grace. Peter’s thoughts may have gone something like this:
“Whoo-hoo! I’m walking on water. This is so cool!” but after a few steps, he began to think,“Oh my gosh, do I have enough faith to keep doing this?”
At which point, his doubt already provided his answer, and he began to sink. Do you see how Peter focused more on his faith than God’s Grace? Peter began to look inward at himself, and he found that he wasn’t enough - his faith alone wasn’t enough. Our faith, without the interworking power of God’s Grace, will never be enough.
God told me that I will know when my faith has become an idol because I will feel limited by my level of faith. When I am focusing more on whether I have enough faith, rather than claiming that God has all the grace necessary to provide, my faith has become an idol. God expanded the lesson by telling me that we will never have enough faith because He is always growing it and refining it. We must therefore, focus more on God’s grace than whether or not we have “enough faith” least we sink out on the water.
Sure, faith is necessary, but it must never be placed in an idol- place before the gift of Grace. You see, our faith can grow or shrink in size based upon what we do. Although we only need faith the size of a mustard seed to move a mountain, if we spend time in His Word and seek Him steadfastly, our faith will increase. When we listen to lies of the enemy, focusing on doubt and fear, our faith will decrease. But Grace always remains the same because God’s grace can’t be added to or subtracted from; it is an unmerited gift. It doesn’t grow and shrink in size like our faith does.
He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
2 Timothy 1:8-10
Warrior Moms Unite!®
Kristina Seymour loves to encourage and equip women through the Word and through community. She is the author of The Warrior Mom Handbook, The Warrior Mom Leadership Manual, and The Warrior Wife Handbook; they are available at Amazon.com. Kristina's Bible studies are for women who desire to live by faith in the midst of their everyday lives. She has learned that women can't survive on caffeine and animal crackers alone; women in the Word and in community are united and able to stand firm. To learn more about Kristina, please visit her recently founded Share & Company Publishing House http://seymourkristina.wix.