Don’t be a Grace-Hoarder !

Did you ever have something you scrimped and saved because there wasn’t very much of it, and you were pretty sure that if you ran out you wouldn’t get any more? 

When I was a kid, on very rare occasions I would get a tiny piece of chocolate for a gift or a treat from somewhere. This was a huge deal, since it didn’t happen often, and I would nurse that little bit of chocolate for weeks! Shaving off the minutest crumbs and savoring every molecule. I knew there wasn’t going to be anymore coming to me for a long time, so I made that stuff LAST! The tiniest nibble turned into an event, and I had lots of rules for myself about it. “Only ONE bite, and ONLY when reading my favorite book on a special day when I’m in just the right mood and I have plenty of time to enjoy it without getting interrupted, and the atmosphere is just right, etc., etc., etc.” 

Bubble bath was the same way. I remember getting a little one-use pack of powdered bubble bath for a birthday or something, and I’d happily add a few grains every time I took a bath, feeling so luxurious, and that stuff lasted me for probably six months. You guys. This was supposed to be a ONE USE packet!

It’s funny (and maybe a little sad) looking back on my chocolate and bubble bath hoarding tendencies now, but I realize that sometimes I treat God’s grace with that same scarcity mentality. I carefully consider if I REALLY need His divine power in a certain situation, or if I could just handle it myself. Eeesh. That sounds kind of blasphemous when it’s written down, but how often do we all do that?? 

Do we treat the unfathomable, immeasurable, powerful grace of God like a commodity that is limited and needs to be rationed? The truth is, God doesn’t ration His gift of grace—He is not going to run out!

2 Corinthians 9:8 AMP

And God is able to make all grace [every favor and earthly blessing] come in abundance to you, so that you may always [under all circumstances, regardless of the need] have complete sufficiency in everything [being completely self-sufficient in Him], and have an abundance for every good work and act of charity.

John 1:16 AMP

For out of His fullness [the superabundance of His grace and truth] we have all received grace upon grace [spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift]. 

Out of HIS FULLNESS, He makes ALL GRACE come to us in ABUNDANCE. Grace upon grace upon grace upon grace. His grace is heaping up for us! Regardless of our false perception of scarcity, the truth is that God has a literally unlimited supply of grace available for each one of us—more than we can ever ask, think, or even imagine! Zero lack, zero possibility of running out at any time no matter what. He offers us the FULLNESS of HIS OWN LIFE and power. All we have to do is tap into it. 

Imagining we have to ration His available divine power (grace), is like sitting by an ocean of drinking water with a straw, thinking we can only take a sip once in a while when we get really thirsty.

Praise God that He gives us a fresh supply of His grace every single day! This means that I don’t have to hoard it or save it up. No matter how much grace I use, there is always more waiting for me. I can never use it all.

Did you catch that? There is fresh grace available for us every. single. day. His generosity is so great that if I don’t use grace offered today, tomorrow it’s gone, and I get new grace. It’s like the manna the children of Israel ate in the wilderness: it doesn’t last; it’s renewed daily. This makes me excited to tap into as much of His grace for each day as I can. I don’t want to “despise” the grace of God. I don’t want to let any of it go to waste!

This understanding gives me a different way to look at how I make use of that grace. I am working on changing the sigh, “God, give me grace”, to “Lord, I receive the abundance of grace You have for me.” It’s a subtle change that gives me a better perception of the transaction that is happening in my soul. I see God standing there with this infinite supply of grace offering it to me. I imagine Him with an eager look and smile on His face, holding out His grace and just waiting for me to take it from Him. I don’t have to beg for it or remind Him that He has some grace stored away somewhere that I’d really like to use if it’s not too much trouble. 

Sometimes I say it a few times, just to get myself in the right headspace and heart position. “Lord, I receive the abundance of Your grace.” His grace is ALWAYS available to receive. 

And His grace changes things. Grace literally empowers us, as John Bevere says, to go beyond our natural ability and tap into God’s supernatural ability. As a mother, having God’s divine power in my day-to-day life is a necessity. I cannot mother my children in a godly way without it! 

Titus 2:11-14 NIV

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

So if I wake up tired and grumpy, and my kids also wake up tired and grumpy, I can take a second and focus on the grace He is offering me in that moment. If my toddler has an accident on the floor, or in the middle of the night, I can breathe His grace in. I can receive it when I’m teaching fractions or long division, or when the whole bathroom is splashed with water from the tub. When I’m feeling annoyed at my husband for some reason, or frustrated with the driver in front of me who doesn’t know how to navigate a 4-way stop. No reason or situation is too small, too insignificant, or too “everyday” for God’s abundant, never-ending grace.

How very kind of God. What a good Father He is! He has prepared everything for us ahead of our needing it. 

Psalm 103:13-18

The Lord is like a father to his children,

tender and compassionate to those who fear him.

For he knows how weak we are;

he remembers we are only dust.

Our days on earth are like grass;

like wildflowers, we bloom and die.

The wind blows, and we are gone—

as though we had never been here.

But the love of the Lord remains forever

with those who fear him.

His salvation extends to the children’s children

of those who are faithful to his covenant,

of those who obey his commandments! 

Dear mama, as you mother your little ones, begin to tune your heart to the grace that God is offering you. Though our weakness He can be exalted, for He has provided all we need, and even more! Let us receive His great abundance and make full use of the supernatural ability He bestows as He pours out grace upon grace. 

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