Devotion today December 30, 2020: will we remain in God's grace?

Scripture reading - 2 Corinthians 12: 1-10

Three times I begged the Lord to take him away from me. But he said to me: "My grace is sufficient for you, because my power is made perfect in weakness". - 2 Corinthians 12: 8-9

Several years ago someone in our community gave me a book called In The Grip of Grace by Max Lucado. A couple of tragic events had brought this person and his family back to the Lord and the church. When he handed me the book, he said: "We found our way back because we were in the grip of God's grace." He had learned that we are all in the grip of God's grace, all the time. Without that, none of us would have any chance.

God's grace is what you and I need more than anything else. Without it we are nothing, but thanks to the grace of God we can face whatever happens to us. This is what the Lord himself says to the apostle Paul. Paul lived with what he called "a thorn in [his] flesh, a messenger of Satan," which tormented him. He kept asking the Lord to remove that thorn. God's answer was no, saying that his grace would be enough. Whatever happens, God would keep Paul in the grip of his grace and Paul would be able to do the work that God had in mind for him.

This is our guarantee for the next year too: whatever happens, God will hold us tight and keep us in the grip of his grace. All we have to do is turn to Jesus for his grace.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your promise to always hold on to us. Please keep us in the grip of your grace. Amen.