The Influence Of The Grace Of God in Our Lives

 

TUE Evening Prayer Reflection 022321 (Polycarp, Deut. 9: 4-12; Ps 45; Heb. 3:1-11)

Today I felt led to talk about the influence of the Grace of God in our lives. When we pray, we are acknowledging our insufficiency and pleading with God to empower us to do what pleases Him. We were created to worship God. God has our blue print, and He understands us better than we understand ourselves. We were created to worship God, to depend upon Him. I want to look into today’s scriptures as well as the life of Polycarp to notice and reflect on moments of the grace of God operating in someone’s life. Could it be that sometimes we don’t notice when we need most the grace of God and when to ask for it. Let us review the life of Polycarp. He was a 1^st century Bishop of Smyrna on the west coast of present Turkey. After he was denounced by the Government for being a Christian, he was arrested and asked by the proconsul to curse and deny Jesus so that they can let him go. He replied: “86 years I have served Him and He never did me wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” The magistrate who clearly was reluctant to kill a gentle old man had no choice but to let him be killed. His last prayer before being burned alive will send chills down anyone’s spine:

“Lord God Almighty, Father of your blessed and beloved child Jesus Christ, through whom we have received knowledge of you, God of angels and hosts and all creation, and of the whole race of the upright who live in your presence:  I bless you that you have thought me worthy of this day and hour, to be numbered among the martyrs and share in the cup of Christ, for resurrection to eternal life, for soul and body in the incorruptibility of the Holy Spirit.  Among them may I be accepted before you today, as a rich and acceptable sacrifice, just as you, the faithful and true God, have prepared and foreshown and brought about. For this reason and for all things I praise you, I bless you, I glorify you, through the eternal heavenly high priest Jesus Christ, your beloved child, through whom be glory to you, with him and the Holy Spirit, now and for the ages to come. Amen.”

 There seems to be a tremendous joy and courage beyond human capacity for someone facing imminent death. I contend that the grace of God empowered him to look beyond earth and to be courageous and wise. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit will give you words to say. Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity, the privilege and honor to share the cup of Christ. The firm understanding that life in this earth is temporary and beyond is an incomparable eternal life. In Polycarp’s case, it seems that the grace of God is bestowed upon us, we can ask for it in circumstances requiring faith, courage, understanding, patience, enduring pain and suffering…

I also read Psalm 45 and found interesting passages that brings out how extreme is the love of God towards us as individuals: “Strap your sword upon your thigh, O mighty warrior, in your pride and in your majesty… Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows…” This language is very specific to an individual. Whoever is being told should know that he/she is precious in God’s eyes as a mighty warrior. It makes me remember God’s choice of Gideon as commander of the Army. An angel of the Lord called him a mighty warrior! The Lord told Gideon He would use him to free Israel from the oppression of the Midianites, and Gideon expressed his doubt that God would use someone like him to bring about the deliverance of Israel. Gideon wanted a sign reassuring him this was, indeed, the Lord. Most of us doubt that we are capable of great exploits in the Kingdom of God, but in real life, there are plenty of examples of great leaders who were reluctant. Maybe you are a mighty warrior because the grace of God and his anointing is on you to serve God in certain circumstances. Try to listen to God within the moment! Ask God, what are you calling me to do in this situation? I assure you that sometimes God reveals his will using signs.

I also saw the grace of God at work in Deuteronomy. I will paraphrase: “Dear Israel, just so you know, I didn’t give you this land because you were righteous, I gave it to you as a promise to your ancestors, but most importantly I took it from these nations because their wickedness.” Let me ask you: Did it feel like God was so loving towards Israel, enough to tell them that they didn’t deserve the favor that God gave them? That’s the grace of God at work! Everyday that we live in safety and protection we should thank God because the grace of God is at work in our lives. What would life look like if we were to be repaid for what we deserve? I will let your imagination do the rest.

It seems the letter to the Hebrews confirms this idea of the Grace of God nicely:

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,
‘Today, if you hear his voice,
 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
   as on the day of testing in the wilderness,
where your ancestors put me to the test,
   though they had seen my works for forty years.
Therefore I was angry with that generation,
and I said, “They always go astray in their hearts,
   and they have not known my ways.”

As in my anger I swore,
  “They will not enter my rest.”

 Where are we in our Lenten journey? Perhaps, we know not if we are still hardening our hearts, maybe holding on to things we should let go? If we are not allowing ourselves to let the Holy Spirit lead us in every area of our lives, it is possible that our Lenten journey will end up not being any different than any other time before. That’s probably not where we want to be. Our goal should be to seek direction from God to help us with His grace, so we can be able to accomplish that which pleases Him.

Let us seek God and ask for his grace in our lives!