Grace for Our Weakness and Need
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Paul Tautges Crosswalk.com blogspot for pastor and counseling Paul Tautges of counselingoneanother.com - Published Dec 18, 2013
God's grace is not only sufficient for our salvation, but for every step on our road of sanctification and growth in holiness. Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Tim Grisson, with Life Action Ministries, write in their workbook, Seeking Him: Experiencing the Joy of Personal Revival, "From birth to regeneration through sanctification, all the way to ultimate glorification--from the cradle to the grave--we are utterly, absolutely, entirely, always dependent on His grace! God's grace is His all-sufficient provision for every need we will ever have."
What do we need God's grace for?
In Seeking Him, a list of the ways we may need God's grace includes the following. The lesson that I worked through this morning contains the challenge to check the needs that apply, personally, by finishing this sentence: I need God's grace in my life to...
- deal with a major disappointment
- forgive someone who has hurt me deeply
- seek forgiveness from someone I have wronged
- mend a broken relationship
- break off a wrong relationship
- meet pressing financial needs
- handle loneliness
- deal with the pain of my past
- deal with the guilt and failure of my past
- be morally pure
- respond to a tough situation at work
- bear chronic physical pain
- repent of a particular sin
- resist a particular temptation
- overcome a besetting sin
- break a habit
- guard my tongue
- love a family member who is hard to love
- be faithful to my mate
- take a specific step of obedience
- honor my parents (or my in-laws)
- love my wife as Christ loves the church
- respect and submit to my husband
- be kind and patient with my kids
- accept a particular ministry opportunity
- fulfill the ministry He has entrusted to me
As I prayerfully worked through this list, I recognized eighteen of the twenty-six needs on the list and added another. What about you? What weaknesses and needs are you aware of in your life for which you need God's grace? When we humble ourselves before the Lord, and others, "the God of all grace" gives to us a "greater grace" (1 Peter 5:6-10).Gr
