RECEIVE BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH

Imagine that you are at a healing service. An alcoholic walks into the church reeking of alcohol. He sits behind the pianist, a nice elderly lady who has been serving in the church for 50 years. Both of them are suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. The healing power of God is present. In an instant, the alcoholic, who has never been in church before, gets healed. The pianist does not.

Most people, on hearing stories like this, would get upset and confused. They might ask, “Shouldn’t God heal this nice, old lady who has been serving Him faithfully all these years, and not that debauched drunkard?” You see, many people still believe that God heals only the deserving.

But that is not how God works. God looks at faith, not works. His power is made manifest in those who trust His goodness instead of their good behavior. So if we go back to the above example, God wants to heal both the alcoholic and the nice elderly pianist. All they need to do is to receive by grace, or unmerited favor, through faith.

You see, we cannot earn the blessings of God. We receive them by believing God’s love and grace toward us. If we receive the greatest blessing—salvation—by simply believing that Jesus did it all for us and not by working for it, what makes us think that the other lesser blessings can be obtained by our works?

When you simply believe that you receive your blessings based on Jesus’ finished work and by His grace alone, you will receive your blessings!