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August 6
Grace - Greater than Failure
For reading & meditation - 2 Corinthians 9:6-15
"... God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times ... you will abound in every good work." (v. 8)
Another principle we must develop in our lives if we are to cope with failure is this: However disappointing and discouraging our failures, grace covers them all. No fears need creep in today from yesterday's failures, for grace has wiped them out and works to turn them to good effect. This does not mean that we evade the consequences of our failures, but providing we respond correctly and with honesty, grace flows in to take over and transform. Emerson says: "Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders, some failures, some absurdities will have crept in. But forget them. Tomorrow is a new day." This is good advice, but not quite good enough. We cannot just "forget them," especially if our failures have brought distress to others also. However, when we face things honestly and determine to learn from our failures, then God transforms those failures by His grace. He wipes away the burning memories of shame and self-disgust so that our failures, seen through grace, do not paralyze us but propel us forward. The Old Testament ends with a curse (Mal. 4:6), but the New Testament ends with grace (Rev. 22:21). What does this suggest? It suggests that grace does not simply look back at past deeds; it looks forward to hold that future steady. You are under grace today, and you will be under grace tomorrow. What a prospect! The past can't hurt you, and both today and tomorrow are secure. Our failures, therefore, make us sing - sing at the redemption that grace draws from them.
Prayer:
O Father, I am so thankful that grace holds the keys of yesterday and tomorrow. You lock the one - and open the other. And there is grace for today too! I am eternally grateful. Amen.
For Further Study
Romans 5; 2 Timothy 2:1; Titus 3:7
1. What are the characteristics of grace?
2. What is the result of being justified through grace?
