RECOGNIZE THE GRACE

01/29/2024

"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me" (1 Corinthians 15:10).

Many of us carry graces that we are not aware of, and what this means is that sometimes, some of us get shortchanged in the storms of life. Now, someone may wonder if it is possible to carry a grace of which you are not aware, and to this, let's look at Moses.

Trying to calm the panicking nation of Israel, who were between the proverbial "devil and the deep blue sea" (Pharaoh's army and the Red Sea), at a place called Pi Hahiroth (translated in English as the "mouth of freedom"), Moses turned to God in prayer. However, the Lord's response was baffling and almost dismissive. Exodus 14:15-16 says, "And the LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea."

It is easily inferable that prayer was not required in that instance. Moses only needed to be strong in the grace that was available to him. However, if God had not told him what to do, the Exodus story might have been told differently today. 

As an aside, grace is the ability of God at work on the earth. This ability may be expressed through a person, animal, place, or thing. For example, when the donkey spoke, rebuking the madness of the prophet (see 2 Peter 2:16), that was grace because the donkey spoke by the ability of God. So, Moses had the divine ability to split the Red Sea available to him but he didn't know it. 

The other point of note in Exodus 14:15-16 was the location of the deliverance, and the Author of the Bible was deliberate to mention Pi Hahiroth, which in English, means "the mouth of freedom." Hear me; the location of your deliverance is in your mouth. The Bible says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit" (Proverbs 18:21). 

But then, you have got to recognize the grace of God. Otherwise, you will suffer a disadvantage, which is far from God's intention. For example, a Christian should never be financially incapacitated. Why? Because the Bible says you already have a revelation of the grace of God. 2 Corinthians 8:9 says, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich." The Bible did not say, "you will know the grace..." NO! You already know it, and the word "know," translated from Greek, refers to awareness. So, you are aware of the grace that lifts out of poverty. 

But in 2 Timothy 2:1, the Bible says to "be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." To be strong requires a different type of knowledge. Daniel 11:32 says, "...the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits." The knowledge referred to here is intercourse, and this knowledge comes from meditation. Here, you start to know yourself in God as God knows you in Him. 

In this Year of the God-kind, there are abilities that will only become known to you as you meditate on the word of God with targeted precision. And the only way to know God this way is to turn your focus to your Red Sea with the rod in your hand, which is the Word of God using the mouth of freedom. You are going through your Red Sea and on the other side, you will worship and praise as you have never done. 

Hallelujah!!!

Faith-Filled Confession

I realize who I am in the midst of the greatest forms of opposition before me because the Greater One, whose I am and whom I serve, is greater than all the adversity in the world. I am one with my Father. Therefore, I march forward, trouncing every obstacle with a God's eye view of the grace that is upon my life. Glory be to God. 

Prayer Point 

Ephesians 1:16-21

One-Year Bible Reading Plan: Exodus 19-21; Matthew 20:1-16