See To It

“See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God…” Hebrews 12:15.

To understand this verse, we need to understand the biblical definition of grace.  ‘Grace is the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.’  This morning I wish to look at the latter part of the definition, the bestowal of blessings.  Why?  Because so many of my trials came up empty on blessings due to my own responses.  This verse is a cautionary tale for me.  It is an exhortation to myself to pay attention in this trial.  It is a commonly sung song with many verses if we don’t examine our responses within our circumstances.

If we are responding in anything short of surrender and examination, we fail to receive what He wishes to bestow on us.  Many times, we will just slide by the seat of our pants, looking like we are trusting God but really relying on our strength.  Simply surviving is not receiving His grace.  If you approach your trials like I have in the past with a poor me attitude, we are not receiving the blessings found through self-examination and humility.  ‘Trails don’t accomplish their beneficial work when you respond with a victim mentality.  Trying to gut it out might sound spiritual, but neither of these approaches is a partnership with God.  Both of those extremes miss the grace of God for your trial.’  When Life Is Hard, p. 95.

Obtaining the grace of God is surrendering our own will in every situation.  Obtaining the grace of God is receiving His wisdom on any given decision and then obeying His message.  Obtaining the grace is humbling ourselves and seeing others through His eyes.  We must see to it that what He desires to give us is what we pursue even when it’s tough.  Some of my greatest gifts of grace have been the liberation of life long attitudes in my heart.  It was gut wrenching during the process but boy did the benefits pay off!  His transforming grace extends a holiness in our lives that no other gift can touch.  Remember, holiness is the absence of everything that causes fear, turmoil, pain and restlessness.  Who doesn’t want holiness to power our lives?  The world would be a lot kinder and loving if everyone of us would humble ourselves and examine our trials.