Happy Wednesday, Friends!
And to those visiting, I say welcome! Susie Larson here…
I post every Wednesday and my sole purpose is to nourish your soul along the way. Each month I give away a $10.00 Starbucks gift card to someone who posts on my blog. So share a story or an insight, bless lots of people, and just maybe you'll win a jolt of java for you and friend!
It’s time to announce the winner for February. Drum roll, please…Leslie Johnson, congratulations! To claim your gift card, just email me with your mailing address at: Susie@FaithRadioNet.com
Thanks, everyone for sharing your thoughts and insights!
Now on to my topic...
I am excited about what I have to share with you today! I hope I can convey in words what I have in my heart, because it feels like an important message for us all (namely me).
If you are a Christ-follower, you know that grace and grace alone has saved you. You no doubt know or may have memorized this verse:
For by GRACE we are saved - through faith - not of ourselves, but is a gift of God, not by any works, so that NO ONE can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Grace, grace, where would we be without grace? We would be lost. We'd still be orphans. We would not possess the identity and inheritance we do now. We get to feast at His table because He invited us, not because we were worthy guests. Thank you, Lord.
But unfortunately, far too many Believers think that's where grace stops. As if to say that grace gets us in the race, but then we take it from there. Saving grace is precious and priceless but there is more to grace, far more, in fact.
Here is another verse to ponder:
And God is able to make ALL grace ABOUND to you, so that in ALL things, at ALL times, having ALL that you need, you will ABOUND in every good work (2 Corinthinans 9:8).
Can I just say, that verse is bursting with the promise of provision! He gives us grace and more grace.
Around this time every year, I start to feel weary from my travels and in deep need of some rest and relaxation. But for me, those days do not come until about late May. The other morning during a powerful prayer time with my husband, I asked God for grace and more grace to carry me through - and not just to get through - I asked for abounding grace to propel me into a place of abundance during my spring speaking tour and my book deadline.
As I boldly asked God to fulfill the promise of 2 Corinthians 9:8, He gave me a picture in my mind of something that surprised me at first. Let me explain. And stay with me, because this is important.
In my mind's eye I saw a picture of the main level of a house, but as I began to boldly pray, my perspective rose above the main level to a hidden upper room so to speak. In this upper level every thing was bigger, more bountiful, and oversized. In comparison, the lower level looked like a Barbie-doll house. The lower level furniture was tiny, like little toys. The 'upper level' was in every way, superior.
The more we prayed, the more I sensed that the upper room represented that place were grace and power fuels us; the place where we function closest to Jesus and where we draw on His strength. When we go at it in our own strength, or we take a God-given assignment and turn it in to striving, we end up on the lower level, where the fruit, the furniture, the sense of perspective are like little toys compared to what we produce when we are in step with Jesus and totally connected to the Vine.
Our Pastor friend Mark Spencer used a candle as an analogy for operating in the grace and power of God. He said, "When a candle burns the wax as it should, you see a constant and steady flame. But when the candle starts to flicker, you know the flame is burning into the wick." It's the difference between burning out and burning brightly.
Are you experiencing a steady flame in your life right now? Or are you burning the wick and is your flame starting to flicker? Are you where God wants you to be right now? Or are you running your own race? Maybe you started out with a God-given assignment but now you're grinding it out on your own strength.
It may be time to pull back and seek the Lord. Ask Him for grace and power. Ask Him to redirect your steps so you can find that sweet spot of service in step with Him. Take some time to rest in Him that He might strengthen you and refresh you. Most of all, get a vision of what that upper room, of what that higher level is supposed to look like for you.
How would your life look different with an abundance of grace and power flowing through the work of your hands? What kind of results would seem supernatural to you? I tell you what, that's what God wants for us and from us - a supernatural, exponential return on His investment! Ask God to fulfill this promise in your life. Ask Him to speak to you about life-adjustments necessary in order to function from that place of abundant grace.
As we draw on the Lord's strength for the Lord's specific call on our lives, we will find our greatest joy, our greatest strength, and our greatest results. His highest will for us is our best-case-scenario and the place where we most love to serve. May we all live and function from such a sweet spot.
So sorry for the extra long post. Have a blessed, grace and power-filled week!
~Until next week...