Channels of Grace

Scripture:  “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.  Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”  John 6:37-38

For a moment I want you to picture God’s Holy Spirit being like electricity and you are a house.  God’s Spirit is connected to your fuse box when you accept Christ as your Savior.  Resurrection power is made available to you when you are saved by grace. 

There are all these wires that run throughout your life.  Circuits if you will of ways that God’s grace flows through you and reaches out to other people.  Unfortunately our sin creates roadblocks or switches in the circuit system.  When we sin against God, we turn off a switch that limits God’s power made available to us.

I could make a long list of ways that we are running on limited power, but we can look at the church and see that we clearly aren’t raising people from the dead and walking on water.  It is obvious we are limiting God’s grace at work in our lives.  Jesus himself said that we would do greater things than he did in His name (John 14:12).  Why is this not happening?

I want to suggest one area of sin that we are dabbling in that is hindering God’s power in our lives.  That area is unforgiveness.   If we seek forgiveness from God for a sin but do not distribute that same forgiving grace to others, we have just flipped a major breaker in the power of God in our lives.  The grace God issues us must be issued through us toward others in order for that grace to empower us as Christians and free us for joyful obedience.

Picture this:  You are feeling a darkness in your spirit.  You are experiencing anxiety, fear and doubt.  You are wrestling with hopelessness and anger.  You are resentful and cynical.  I would suggest that you check your forgiveness breaker.  Are you withholding grace from someone?  Who is it?  Why?  Only you know and God will show you what it is that is stealing the fruit of His Spirit from you: peace, joy, faithfulness, gentleness, patience, self-control, ect (Galatians 5:22).  Taking a spiritual inventory will tell you pretty quickly if your forgiveness breaker is flipped.

I know that Christ meant for us to walk in these gifts.  He said that He was leaving us His peace.  Why are we lacking?  Do not decide that you are destined to live in darkness.  That you can’t overcome the sorrow you feel.  Start trying to really get to the bottom of it.  Your sorrow is not dependent on someone else.  It is dependent on you forgiving that person, the exact way that Christ forgives you, with love, mercy and grace (unmerited favor).  Stop withholding grace!

Leslie Stephens

McMinnville, TN

Prayer:  O merciful Savior, thank you for loving me while I was still a sinner.  Help me to extend that same mercy and grace to others, so that your light may shine through me and so that I may find Your peace.  Amen

Prayer Tip:  Every prayer should contain confession.  We are sinful people.  Seek out your sin, don’t assume you are covered.