Grace

Grace

What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the Holy Spirit, whom God has placed within us, jealously longs for us to be faithful? He gives us more and more strength to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, “God sets himself against the proud, but he shows favor to the humble.” So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.

James 4:5-7

Someone has said, “Man is born broken. He lives by mending. The grace of God is glue.” Grace is what we all long for, isn’t it? We all long to be shown mercy, love, compassion, and patience. The healthiest people in the world are those who are experiencing the grace of God and are learning to pass it on to others. I guess that also means that the healthiest people in the world are not proud but humble, because proud people don’t think they need grace, and they certainly can’t pass on to others what they haven’t experienced themselves.

The devil, however, doesn’t like grace. He prefers for us to be proud. His questions for the believer are, “Why keep so closely to the narrow way and the humble path? Why not be more self-assertive? Why not express yourself as fully as you can, and find power and enjoyment in that self-expression?”^a He knows that if we don’t take God seriously and submit to him in humility, we’ll remain broken people.

And so we see that the path to grace is through faith that resists the devil. When we put our faith in Christ, we humble ourselves, and grace can come only to the humble.

Father,

We ask forgiveness for our pride. May we daily submit ourselves to you and resist the devil. Thank you for your grace. Amen.