Grace Makes You Work More
1 Corinthians 15:10, NRSV
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I WORKED HARDER than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
In this passage of scripture, Paul says he worked MORE than everybody else because of the graceof God that was given to him.
This shows us a key fact that people miss about grace: Grace gives you the strength to work more, and gives us a call to work more – because the connection between more work and results is permanent.
Also it blesses our work so our work would produce more results than normal – but we would still have to work!
Grace does NOT mean you would work less, but actually that you would work more; and grace goes ahead to give you the strength to work more.
The Bible says that “The soul of the diligent shall be made fat (prosperous)’ –
Proverbs 13:4; and that ‘He becometh poor that dealeth [with] a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich’ – Proverbs 10:4.
Grace DOES NOT come to nullify these laws, but rather to give you power, and the strength to go in line with them: for their fulfilment and manifestation in your life.
Grace is meant to give you the strength to obey the instructions of God better than normal!
You stand in grace according to the knowledge of your righteousness that you have. The Bible says that “Christ has been made our righteousness” (1 Cor 1:30): by grace we stand in this righteousness that God has given us freely, by reason of us accepting the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. But also, grace gives us the strength to MANIFEST and STAND as righteous sons of God.
The Word says faith without works (corresponding action) is dead. If we really have faith that God has made us diligent and obedient sons of God, the way we show it is by ACTING it out.
Definitely grace would always be there to pick you up if you made a mistake: but remember, strong, obedient, hardworking and upright is who we are. We must act out anything we truly believe God has given us. This is the proof of our faith: and faith is what lets loose the unstoppable power of God on our lives.
CONFESSION
I know who I am. I am strong, hardworking, upright and holy. God has already given these gifts to me, and I act them out as a sign of my faith in His Word: I see His power in my life, and I receive His blessings for me, according to His Word for me. I am diligent, and my soul is made fat. Just like Paul, I am more diligent than everybody else, and I am rich as a result: hallelujah!
DAILY WORD STUDY
Acts 5:17-42
Grace and favour is yours today in Jesus Name!
Can I hear an Amen?
