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Exposition
But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me – Have you ever been in a situation where your ability has been questioned? It could have been your parenting skills, your ability to do a job properly without messing up, your religion etc. In certain parts of the world, the colour of one’s skin or accent might have led you been treated differently.
Apostle Paul’s apostleship was questioned in the Corinthian Church because of his past persecution of the Church. He might have waited for people who supported him to speak on his behalf, but he didn’t. Paul pronounced it for everyone to know that whatever he had achieved wasn’t by his power or intellect. (He was a well-learned man). It was the grace of God.
The grace of God is the very centre of Christianity. Grace starts and ends with God. It is the very essence of God. God gives to us out of His completeness and love for us. God has given gifts to us to enable us to do all that we need to do while here on earth. We do not need to do anything to receive grace from God. Grace is free. Learn to operate on the premise that ‘All we have is from God and all we are is from God’. That is why Paul said grace was ‘bestowed’ upon him.
Paul was confident of the availability of grace to him. Yes, he worked harder than his colleagues but without the grace of God, it wouldn’t have been possible. As Paul believed in the grace of God, you can believe too. You can be confident that the grace of God is available to you in your Christian walk with the Lord. It is available to enable you to fulfil the purpose of God for you.
You can trust that that His grace is sufficient for you. As you submit to God, He will seal you with His grace. James 4:6 says God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.
Prayer
Help me Lord to completely humble myself under your authority. Let the grace to obey you be part and parcel of my life. As you are the God of all grace, let your grace rest upon me. Let your grace steer me in the direction purposed by you O Lord. I am aware challenges are a part of the package. Help me Lord to overcome every obstacle that comes my way in Jesus name. Amen
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