“There is no such way to attain to a greater measure of grace as for a man to live up to the little grace he has.”
Phillips Brooks
When I was pregnant with our second born I worried I wouldn’t have enough love for both kids. I deeply loved my daughter but feared some of that love would be taken away to give to my newborn son. God surprised me; He expanded my capacity to love. I thought I had only a certain amount of love within my heart to give and God gave me more.
To expand is “to increase the volume, to enlarge.” Responsibility is my number one strength and that trait encourages me to wholeheartedly obey God. I become stressed if I think I can’t fulfill my God-given assignments.
The writer’s conference this past week stressed the importance of building your platform; establishing a presence through social media. My friends know I have avoided Facebook because I don’t want to add another responsibility to my already piled high plate of tasks. The older I get the less energy I have, so to do more makes me want to climb back into bed and pull the covers over my head.
But then God reminded me of His principle of expansion. Just like the five loaves of bread and two fish in Mark 6:35-44, God loves to perform miracles. With a twinkle in His eye, He says, “Watch me do what no man can do. Watch me take a little and expand it to meet the needs.” Our one requirement is we give Him the little we possess. Yesterday He encouraged me with these words: “Just give me what you’ve got Norma and I’ll feed thousands with it.”
Grace is the means God expands what we have. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (II Corinthians 12:9) There is not enough time in the day or energy in my body to do all that God is requiring me to do. It’s through God’s grace my finite time and energy enlarges and becomes infinite. Whatever God asks us to do, He will supply the needed provisions to accomplish it. If God chooses to increase my realm of ministry and influence then I can trust Him to multiply the necessary grace.
Years ago a friend challenged me with Isaiah 54:2. “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.” Oswald Chambers writes, “The secret of a Christian life is that the supernatural becomes natural in him as a result of the grace of God.” Ask God to use His great grace to turn the finite into the infinite.
“God does not ask us to do things that are naturally easy for us – He only asks us to do the things that we are perfectly fit to do through His grace…”
Oswald Chambers
Relevant Reflections:
1. Where in your life do you need God to multiply His grace?
2. Spend time in prayer asking God to apply His expansion principle to your life.
3. Describe a time when you experienced God turning your finite into His infinite.
Kommentare