When We Need It (2) 

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1.11, 12

“Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.” Acts 17.25

Not just in times of crisis
We recall the scene in “A Wonderful Life” when George Bailey, at the end of his wits and desperate for direction, turns to God and pleads with Him for grace to help in his time of need.

I suspect that for many of us, this is what we understand the writer of Hebrews to have had in mind when he instructed us to come boldly before the throne of grace, there to find mercy and grace to help in our time of need (Heb. 4.16). We’ve made a terrible blunder. Our marriage is on the rocks. We’ve lost our job, endured some physical catastrophe, have a child who’s gone astray, or just can’t figure out what the next steps should be. So we come to the Lord in prayer, claiming the promise that He will supply the grace we need, just when we need it.

And He will do so, just as He promised; although, very often, grace may come in some guise or form other than what we thought we needed. Our Father knows our needs before we ask them; we don’t (Matt. 6.8). 

But we will get to this issue in due course. For now, a more looming need for grace presents itself for our consideration. 

This may come as news to some: The universe does not run on cruise control. There is nothing automatic or inherent about the operations of the cosmos. Such elemental physical realities as atoms, molecules, and cells; and such basic life principles as gravity, osmosis, respiration, and the circulation of blood; the motions of stars and planets, the changes of season, day giving way to night – none of these things “just happens.” Physical reality – galaxies, stars, human bodies, oceans – contains no inherent properties or powers to make things operate over and over again just so. 

The so-called “laws” of physics are not laws in the strict sense as we tend to think about them – that, given certain properties and conditions, matter always operates just so, because that’s what matter does. The cosmos does not run under its own power. 

And neither do you or I.

Taking grace for granted?
Everything that is, everything that happens, is “energized” (Greek: ἐνεργοῦντος, energountos, “works”) by God Himself. Personally. Continually. Unfailingly. Orderly.

He Who made the world, keeps the world. Whatever exists is kept in existence by the superintending grace of God. He made the world, and He loves it, and what God loves, He cares for with all the power and wisdom and grace His creatures require.

The air around us every day is filled with marvels: photons of light, waves of sound, movements of air, creatures and culture and people of wondrous diversity. All this exists and continues because God works all things according to the counsel of His will. Our universe is not a wind-up toy, set in place, started, and running by some quantum mainspring while God attends to more important matters. The cosmos – and all its creatures – are what matter to God, and He attends to every aspect of it, every particle and place and power and pattern and protocol. The “laws of physics” are, more correctly, descriptions of the way the all-wise, all-powerful, unfailing God works all things according to the counsel of His will.

We have been schooled all our days to think of the cosmos and its marvels as material givens. They just are, and they just continue. It’s no wonder we tend so easily to neglect or ignore or abuse the creatures around us. Perhaps if we understood each of these as being and continuing in existence because of God’s constant attention and care, we might marvel and be humbled a bit more, and give thanks to God for the infinite variety and power of His common grace.

If Jesus Christ were for a moment to withdraw His Word of power from any aspect of the cosmos, it would not simply fall apart, it would cease to exist (Heb. 1.3).

Grace to you
We need grace to exist. To draw breath, feel the beat of our heart, see or hear the world, get ourselves up and ready for the day, carry out our responsibilities, do our work, nurture our relationships – all of it, every bit of it. All that we are and do is possible only because of the grace of God, Who gives to all human beings and every living creature life and breath and all things.

The grace of God comes to us like the rays of the sun or the fresh air of the new day. We are suffused with, supported by, and sustained in grace every moment of our lives. We exist because God insists it should be so. And He insists it should be so because He loves us.

But have we presumed on His grace by failing to acknowledge it with wonder, gratitude, and praise? Ancient prayers, such as the Jesus Prayer, that seek to fit communion with God into the rhythms of our body or our daily life, can help to make us more mindful of the ways His Presence and power continually work for us. Many old songs – spirituals, chants, and travel and work songs – also invite us to consider the ways God grace is working for us in our time of need.

In short, because each day we simply need to be, we need the grace of God. And God abounds His grace toward us for all the business of living, so that we are never without opportunity to wonder at His greatness, kneel before His unfailing love, and pour our hearts out in thanksgiving and praise for His tender, efficacious, and continuous care.

What do you need grace for today? You need grace to be. And if you’ll take the time to reflect on the wonder which is your life, you may see more of God’s grace than ever, and then you can give Him more of the thanks and praise He is due.

And that would fulfill the purpose of His grace, precisely as He intends.

For reflection

1. The cosmos, and everything in it, cannot exist apart from the grace of God. Explain.

2. We are continuously surrounded by and immersed in grace. Why do we so often take it for granted?

3. What can you do to be more aware of and grateful for the grace of God that allows you to exist?

Next Steps – Transformation: Share this article with a Christian friend. Then follow-up, and consider ways you might help each other be more conscious of and grateful for the grace of God.

Grace flows from our relationship with Jesus Christ. The better we know Him, the more His grace will do its work in us. Our book, To Know Him, can help you in drawing closer to Jesus and increasing in Him. Order your copy by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.