Today we will continue our series entitled “God’s Grace & Our Faith.” We are looking at The Law given under Moses vs. the Grace provided by Jesus. Our primary scriptures are John 1:14 & 17.
(John 1:14 New International Version)
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(John 1:17 New International Version)
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Yesterday we looked at Jeremiah 1:5-8. Let’s go back to that again today, with a special emphasis on God’s grace.
The Lord said to Jeremiah, “Before I made you in your mother’s womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I chose you for a special work. I chose you to be a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah responded, “But, Lord God, I don’t know how to speak. I am only a boy.” The Lord then responded to him, “Don’t say, ‘I am only a boy. You must go everywhere I send you and say everything I tell you to say. Don’t be afraid of anyone. I am with you, and I will protect you.” (see Jer 1:5-8 ERV).
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. God has already prepared where you need to go and what you need to do when you get there.
God said to Jeremiah, “You must go everywhere I send you.” Jeremiah did not know what he needed to do as a prophet. He did not know where he needed to go. But God did! God had already mapped out Jeremiah’s assignment. The good news is that what is true for Jeremiah is true for you. God’s plan for your life was prepared before you ever lived one day (Palm 139:16).
— God anointed Jeremiah for a specific assignment. God equipped the young man to go to specific people to communicate a specific message. While Jeremiah did not know WHERE he was going, all he needed to know was WHO he was following. The same is true for us today. You may not know where God is taking you, but God knows. Just as long as you know who you are following, you will be okay.
— Being led by God, through His Spirit, down the path to your destiny is amazing. God won’t give you all the answers up front. He will give you enough “light” to make the most of the season you are in, but He won’t always tell you what is down the road or around the corner. This means you must trust Him. If you do, if you learn to be led by God every day in every way, you will wake up one morning and realize that your life did not turn out the way you planned, but it is far greater than anything you ever imagined.
— Isabella and I are a witness to this. We arrived in the Northern Virginia area in 2010. We thought we would be here for 2-3 years, retire, and then move to Florida and start a church. Along the way, God made it clear to us that He had other plans. We submitted. So when we retired from the Army in 2015, we knew were we not moving, but we were also not sure what we were going to do. We prayed, and we somewhat had plans. But once again, God’s plans are greater than ours. Solomon said it this way, “You can make many plans, but the LORD’s purpose will prevail.” (Prov 19:21).
If God is leading you, and you are obedient to His leading (meaning that you will go wherever He tells you to go and do whatever He tells you to, even when it is NOT what you wanted), you will wind up living the life God planned for you before the world began. It may not look anything like what you planned. But believe me, it will be far greater. Isabella and I laugh all the time about the fact that our life is not what we expected. It is far greater. It is God’s will. Please be open to it. God already prepared where you need to go, and He has already given you the grace to do what you need to go when you get there!
2. God will give you the words to say when you are in situations He planned for you to be in.
God said to Jeremiah, “You must go everywhere I send you and say everything I tell you to say.” The job of a prophet is to speak God’s words. Jeremiah did not know what to say, but God knew. All Jeremiah needed to do was open his mouth and allow God to provide the words.
— God had specific messages Jeremiah needed to deliver. Like Jeremiah, God has specific things He has destined you to do. Your job is to simply STOP fighting the process, submit to God’s will and flow in His grace! Powerful things happen when you make a human alignment with God’s assignment for your life.
— Since Jeremiah was called to be a prophet, what he needed was words. Guess what? God had already provided the words. Jeremiah just needed to provide the mouth and the voice. In your case, you may need more than words to do what God called you to do. But whatever it is (money, buildings, equipment, machinery, relationships, people, etc.), it is already stored up for you and your purpose. God planned for your arrival. You are destined for such a time as this. As you are led by God’s Spirit and you are obedient to His leading, you will gain access to everything you need (at just the right time) to do what He called you to do.
3. God will protect you for your purpose.
God knew Jeremiah was concerned about being a prophet. Jeremiah knew that prophets often had to speak truth power. He so he was afraid. To provide Jeremiah reassurance, God said, “Don’t be afraid of anyone. I am with you, and I will protect you.”
— Since God was going to send Jeremiah out to deliver messages people did not want to hear, God reassured Jeremiah that the one doing the sending is fully capable of also doing the protecting. God wanted Jeremiah to know that divine protection had already been provided.
— When you are doing the Lord’s work, never be afraid. Where God leads, He feeds. Where He guides, He provides. Where He sends, He protects. Walk into your destiny with fearless confidence. If God is for you, He is more than the entire world against you! (Romans 8:31).
— Say this, “FEAR HAS NO POWER OVER ME! GOD IS WITH ME EVERYWHERE I GO!“
4. Life is much better when you live in alignment with God’s assignment.
— While millions of people are stressed out, trying to MAKE A LIFE for themselves on their own, with their own power, ability, and strength, God is looking for you to REST in His Finished Work! If you ever get to this point, you will live a life that is far beyond anything you could ask, dream or even imagine (Eph 3:20). Because at that point, God will be the one living through you, and He will lead you to the life He planned before the world began. Take it from me, this is the life you want. It is #TheGraceLife.
— Instead of attempting to get God to provide for the plan you came up with, why don’t you try simply receiving what He has already provided? Said another way, stop coming up with plans and then asking God to bless your plans. When you ask the Holy Spirit to show you the plans God already came up with for your life, you don’t have to ask God to bless it because His plans are already blessed. The life of faith is not about you trying to get God to put a “YES” on your plans. The life of faith is about God trying to get you to put a “YES” on the plans He came up with for you before the world began!
— God’s grace is already on you to do what He birthed you to do. However, when you try to make your life about something else (things you came up with in your own heart), then you are going to need things God did not store up for you, you are going to ask for things God has not already provided, and you will attempt things you don’t have the grace for. As a result, your prayer life will be hit-and-miss at best; you will be striving to make things happen becuase you are operating outside of God’s grace, and your life will be an exercise in human effort. If that’s what you want, go for it! But if you are humble enough to die to self, accept God’s plans above your own, and simply go along for the ride the Holy Spirit will lead you on, you will live an amazing life because it will be the life planned for you in His heart. Guess what? You can’t out dream God. His plans are better than yours. So please, die to self, open your heart to God, make a human alignment with your divine assignment, and live the #TheGraceLife.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for teaching me about Your amazing grace and my requirement to walk and live by faith.
The more I learn about Your grace, the more I willingly die to self. There was a time in my life when I made my own decisions, pursued my own desires, and chased my own dreams. Living that way led to frustration because I was often asking for things that were outside of Your will for me. Those days are over!
I now die to self. I yield to You. I place Your will above my selfish desires. I pursue Your dreams for my life. I live in accordance with Your purpose. This is a much greater way to live.
Living this way, I get to enjoy everything You already prepared for me. I get to meet all the people You planned for me to meet when You planned for me to meet them. I get to walk in my divine purpose, and as I do, things happen for me at just the right time.
I am enjoying life now because I am not STRESSING anymore. I am RESTING in Your Finished Work! This is how I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
