3. Presence.
Like acceptance, the grace of God’s presence means that our Father is not distant. In fact, God is present with us wherever we are, whomever we’re with and whatever we’re doing.
The Bible tells us that God, in His grace, has made us the place where He dwells. It wasn’t enough for God to forgive us—He literally unzipped us and got inside us by His Holy Spirit, and so He is with us all the time.
4. Enablement.
I wrote in the beginning of the article that grace reaches us where we are and takes us where God wants us to be. You see, God’s not simply content to give us salvation and then leave us alone until eternity. Rather, He wants us to become more like His Son and work for the furtherance of His Kingdom right here, right now.
But remaining sin leaves us lame and weak and unable. God’s grace intervenes to give us power and strength. It gives us the ability to do what we’re called to do but what we could never do on our own.
5. Freedom.
God’s grace also delivers. Sin turns us into addicts—we’re slaves of sin, but God’s grace breaks that bondage. Grace gives us the power to say “No!” and turn in a much better direction.
6. Completion.
Finally, God’s grace is the grace of completion. There will be a day when you and I will be fully restored to who we were meant to be. There will be no more sin; there will be no more struggle. Everything will be restored, and we will worship in the presence of this amazing God of grace.
Where do I find grace?
It’s helpful to know what grace looks like and what it does, but if you don’t know how to access it, you’ll be left feeling discouraged. So very quickly, to finish this article, I want to give you two things to consider:
1. Your greatest problem in life exists inside you, not outside you. If you convince yourself that your problem is in your relationships, your location or your situation, you’ll quit seeking grace and you’ll try to find an easy way out. But if you humbly admit that you need help, you’ll become excited about the different variations of grace that God provides.
2. Stand under the common fountains of grace. By this, I mean pursue resources of grace—attend your worship service, join a Bible study or small group, make time for personal prayer and devotions, and seek counsel from older and more mature Christians. If you want to get wet with the grace of God, stand under a fountain and trust that the Lord will send the water!
