Day 14

Grace Produces Hope and Encouragement

"May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope," (2 Thessalonians 2:16 NIV).

None of us are spared from disappointments, setbacks, trials and hardship even if we are in Christ. But the difference is He loves us ( 2 Thess. 2:16). This love propels our life towards God-given encouragement and hope. But how? It is through grace"...and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope". The grace of God is the source of encouragement and hope. Sometimes when we are at a funeral comforting the loved ones of the deceased or when we try to speak hope to an hurting person it seems our words are just not good enough. It is at times like this when we have nothing to give, God's grace is simply sufficient for us. The very little we say suddenly becomes sufficient to bring comfort and hope to the needy. It is like the words of the Lord to Paul the apostle, " My grace is sufficient for you...". The grace of God will bring heavenly comfort, encouragement and hope.

Grace is the empowerment of God supernaturally working in us. The more you abide and trust the grace of God for you, the less you depend on yourself and your human and earthly efforts. The more you allow the grace of God work in you, the less discouragements and hopelessness will rule in us. Why? Because the more grace works in you the less you will operate in human wisdom to find answers for all life's struggle. Grace will provide you the hope and encouragement you need.

Paul affirms the power of God's graces again when he said, "through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:2 NKJV). Now what is this source of comfort and hope? Can we just hope things will work out okay for us? Can we rationalize that our sins will not be that bad and worse tomorrow? Can we be certain of tomorrow and all its challenges and demands? Definitely not! But one thing we know and Paul states it very clearly that comfort and hope come from resting in God's undeserved and unmerited favor—His amazing grace.