Amazingly Needed: Omnipotent Grace.

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One of the most dangerous times in a man’s life is when he forgets his deep, and dire need for the grace of God. Proverbs 30:7-9 spells this out very clearly, in the form of a petition to the Lord:

“Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die:

Remove far from me falsehood and lying;

give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me,

lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the LORD?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.”

This passage speaks of the Christian’s continual “felt” need for the grace of God. In it, the writer asks the Lord to give him “neither poverty nor riches”. Now, I don’t believe he is asking God to make him “middle-class”. It seems like from the context of the verse that the quantity of goods is not the primary issue, but the way in which that quantity affects the man’s heart. The writer goes on to expound on his petition in verse 9, “lest I be full and deny you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’” The reason he prayed for the Lord not to give him one financial extreme or the other, is because the writer realized that economic circumstance does not and must not determine our relationship with the Lord. But let me put the same caveat that he did here…

Circumstances often bring there own specific temptations. There is an implication in this verse that with great riches comes the temptation to become “full” of oneself, confident in one’s own strength and economic prowess. Even to the point in which one will “deny” and forget “Who” it was that gave him all his goods. Lack of need is connected with temptation to forget God, and thus deny our need for his grace.

Likewise, with the absence of any semblance of riches comes the temptation to “steal and profane the name of God.” When financial hardship comes (or any hardship for that matter), and our faith is tested, Satan often gives us two options: relinquish your faith that God will provide for you and determine to provide for yourself (sin); or blame God for the situation, or his lack of care for you, and thus profane his name (sin). Neither is an viable option for believers.

The answer, and the picture we get from this passage, as verse 8 alludes to, is that we are to be aware of what is “needful” for us, and we are not to seek anything above or below that mark. Hebrews 13:5 says, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” Again, the emphasis is not on the amount of money per se, but the “love of money” and the discontentment that comes from having lack thereof. But look at God’s answer for this discontentment: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Rather than promises of earthly riches, by his grace, He gives us himself. And who here will deny that we are in great need, amazing need (if you will) of a consistent, continual supply of God’s presence and grace? After all, it is by God’s grace that we receive anything that we have. The acronym below really ’spells it out’:

God’s

Riches

At

Christ’s

Expense

In speaking of the long suffering of God, Charles Spurgeon addressed grace in this way: “O sinner, the fact that you are alive proves that God is not dealing with you according to strict justice, but in patient forbearance; every moment you live is another instance of omnipotent long-suffering. It is the sacrifice of Christ that arrests the axe of justice, which else must execute you.” In the quote above, you can replace the words “forbearance” and “long-suffering” with “grace” to get the full effect. It really is an amazing doctrine to meditate on. It is only by the grace of God that we will draw our next breath, or see our loved ones again. The moment that we are conceived in our mother’s womb, all that is due to us, all that we deserve – is swift and terrible judgment – “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved.” – Eph. 2:4-5.

And it is by the power of that same grace that we must live – every day – and not a moment less. We must take great care never to take what was purchased for us by the blood of Christ for granted. To demand more from life than what we are given is to drive the crucifixion nail deeper in our Lord’s hand, for we are saying that what he has purchased for us was not enough. And to refuse to acknowledge and praise the grace that is given us is to slap away the nail-scarred hand of the One who gave his all to redeem us from the power of death, hell, and the grave.

I’m in Louisville, in need of grace – where are you?

‘Brother Hank

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