My Works Have Nothing to Do With It

“For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast,” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

God gives us the gift of rest in his grace. I have been wondering how to have bold faith to fight my sin and bold grace in my life. How do the two interact? The truth is that I am always able to fight sin from the standpoint of rest. I have grace to set my head down upon, to recline upon. I always know what God’s answer will be for me when I go to him for forgiveness—it will always be grace. I can fight sin boldly knowing that I already have the complete forgiveness of God for all of my past and all of my earthly future.

I have a solidity of rest in this grace because I know that my works do not sway the hand or viewpoint of God. He has set himself for me in Christ, and this disposition is not going to change. Grace is as sure as the righteousness of Christ is complete. And, that is a place where there will be no shifting in God. Grace is foundational to my every breath and step as a Christian. If we are not living from grace, we are not living from the gospel. If we do not have a bold confidence in grace, then we are misunderstanding how the gospel is meant to inform our very lives.

I am thoroughly convinced that God wants us to make grace our haven. It is surely ours; we do not have to be timid about it. We know that his grace will meet all of our needs—and that it is a gift he will not be taking back from us. Rest in grace, reader. Rest in his gift that is not of yourself. It is heavenly and glorious—there is simply nothing like it.

Dear Jesus, my Lord, I thank you for the gift of grace that did not come from me and my works. I can live confidently because I know that your grace is my foundation and my footing. I can boldly fight the sin in my life because I am rested in my being through the gift of grace that will never leave. I thank you for such a peace and such a strength. My works have nothing to do with it—and that is the blessed eternal truth. Amen.

He Is Our Stability

When I set my head down on my pillow each night, I have peace and rest that I know Jesus Christ. I have made the ask: I have trusted in him for my salvation. I don’t fully know why, but it was frightening to trust in him and only him for the salvation of my soul. Trusting in myself is what I knew. It is what I felt comfortable doing. But then, I put myself in his arms alone, and I rested there. I was safe and secure. He is our stability of salvation.

Each night as I rest, and before my mind falls into its sleep, I think about Jesus and the firm foundation that I have with him. I think about how I can lean on him—that he is my rest and my peace. Each night, I renew my decision to trust in Jesus for my salvation by resting in him. If something were to happen to me in my sleep, I would still be resting on him when I awoke in the realms of glory.

Yet, still, while reflecting here and resting here on this earth, he is the stability of my day. I know what to expect, walking with my dear Jesus. I know that he will surprise me with his plans for my life. I know that he will surprise me with how he leads and blesses me. I know that he will take me into interesting and new directions. I know that he will reveal my life to me as it moves forward. While he is surprising and inventive concerning my life direction and his leadership of me, he is also stable.

I know that he is holy and pure and true. I know that he is leading me for his Name’s sake. I know that his love will never end—it will go on forever and ever. It is an everlasting love. I know that my walk is solid when I walk in his ways. I know that my days are full of his mercy and dependent upon his abounding grace. I know that he will be there in prayer, listening and guiding my spirit forward. I know that he lifts me and prepares me for what he wants me to do.

I believe that Jesus likes to be our place of security and solidity. I believe with all my heart that he loves when his saints depend upon him alone. There is peace in knowing that Jesus is our security and safety. I think about all of the evil forces of this world—the realm of demons and devil. He will protect us from attack and from all temptation, providing a way out. Jesus is the King, and his kingdom is present here wherever he is acknowledged as the King—wherever he is obeyed as such. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. And, as a participant in his realm, I know that all of the forces of evil without and all of the evil tendencies within will meet their demise.

Knowing that Jesus rules the world is the stability of our lives and existences. He is our stabling force. When we are overwhelmed by the workings of the world and by the spiritual forces that are against us, he commands us well through his power and glory shining in and through us through the Holy Spirit. There is nothing about our lives that surprises God. There is nothing about our futures that catches him off-guard. If we are in a time of testing, we can trust that Jesus is the Rock upon which we can lean.

At times, there will be testing in our lives. There will be trials and patches of rough earth upon which we need to travel. But our prayers work because God has deemed our prayer to be effective with him. Our cries to him work. He answers them. We know that he loves to answer the prayers of his saints. And, he will rush to our side, being our guide and our fearless presence. He will send his help of stabilizing strength. Jesus is worth our trust. He will guide us through—sometimes with a different path or different results than on our minds. But he will guide us through nonetheless. Our paths will be straight through whatever we face.

The Lord stabilizes us through our salvation, through his charming leadership, through his steadfast character, through grappling with all of the forces of evil against us, and through experiencing difficulties in our lives. There is security in knowing the King of kings. And, though perhaps we would prefer that he rush us to his presence the moment we accept salvation, we can trust that he is working out his plan and ways for his purposes and glory. And we—we have the opportunity to show him our love for him now through our reliance upon him, and our trust that he is our good all of the days of our lives.