EMPOWERED BY HIS GRACE by Gary Wilkerson
God’s grace has to cover whatever He calls us to do. See if these words describe your walk with the Lord: burdened, stressed, heavyhearted, mentally drained, fatigued. These are the outcomes whenever we double our fleshly efforts to please God. They are clear signs that the law, not God’s grace, is in operation.
The freedom Christ won for us on the cross is not just good news for the lost, it is good news for every believer. Yet many continue to live under a cloud thinking they are not a quality son or daughter to God. They think He loves them because He has to. The gospels tell us differently. Jesus called all twelve of the sinful, flawed, imperfect disciples to Him because He wanted their friendship: “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15, ESV).
Jesus chose to share the deep desires of the Father’s heart with these friends. He has also done that with you when you chose to follow Him. So when you go to Him in prayer or walk into church, His attitude isn’t, “Not you again.” The opposite is true! He wants to be with you, to sit beside you, to be your friend, because He is actually pleased with you.
You may think, “How could that be? Nothing I see in my life could possibly be pleasing to the Lord.” That’s why Scripture tells us, “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4, ESV). It is impossible for anyone to live according to the law for very long. We may keep telling ourselves, “I’ll get it right tomorrow. I just have to reenergize myself ,” but we cannot maintain it. Eventually we are overcome by an impossible burden, and we come to the end of ourselves. Jesus is the one waiting for us at the end of all our self-efforts. Only in Him do we find true freedom.
The freedom Christ won for us on the cross is not just good news for the lost, it is good news for every believer. Yet many continue to live under a cloud thinking they are not a quality son or daughter to God. They think He loves them because He has to. The gospels tell us differently. Jesus called all twelve of the sinful, flawed, imperfect disciples to Him because He wanted their friendship: “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15, ESV).
Jesus chose to share the deep desires of the Father’s heart with these friends. He has also done that with you when you chose to follow Him. So when you go to Him in prayer or walk into church, His attitude isn’t, “Not you again.” The opposite is true! He wants to be with you, to sit beside you, to be your friend, because He is actually pleased with you.
You may think, “How could that be? Nothing I see in my life could possibly be pleasing to the Lord.” That’s why Scripture tells us, “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4, ESV). It is impossible for anyone to live according to the law for very long. We may keep telling ourselves, “I’ll get it right tomorrow. I just have to reenergize myself ,” but we cannot maintain it. Eventually we are overcome by an impossible burden, and we come to the end of ourselves. Jesus is the one waiting for us at the end of all our self-efforts. Only in Him do we find true freedom.