Grace is giving someone what they do not deserve. God tells us repeatedly in the Bible that He wants to show us grace, but will wait on us to turn toward Him in genuine repentance.
Isaiah 30 is an impactful scripture about God’s grace following the sin of His people. I encourage you to click the link and read all of it for full context. The first seven verses reveal how the people of Judah turned away from God and made a treaty with Egypt for protection instead of trusting God. Verses 8-11 reveal how the people have rejected God’s messengers who bring His instruction. Verses 12-17 tell how futile and worthless is the path the people chose instead of following God’s instructions. It will not serve them well. And in the center of this outright rebellion toward God, God still offers grace when the people repent starting in verse 18. But they must turn to Him.
18 So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God.
Blessed are those who wait for his help.
19 O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. He will be gracious if you ask for help. He will surely respond to the sound of your cries. 20 Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes.
21 Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say,
“This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left. 22 Then you will destroy all your silver idols and your precious gold images. You will throw them out like filthy rags,
saying to them, “Good riddance!”
23 Then the Lord will bless you with rain at planting time. There will be wonderful harvests and plenty of pastureland for your livestock. 24 The oxen and donkeys that till the ground will eat good grain, its chaff blown away by the wind. 25 In that day, when your enemies are slaughtered and the towers fall, there will be streams of water flowing down every mountain and hill. 26 The moon will be as bright as the sun, and the sun will be seven times brighter—like the light of seven days in one! So it will be when the Lord begins to heal his people and cure the wounds he gave them.
Anyone who expects God to be gracious while still openly rejecting and rebelling against Him will be disappointed. God is willing to extend grace, but we must turn toward Him with genuine repentance. God is waiting for us to come to Him and His grace is truly wonderful.
Take time in prayer right now and accept and acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord. Come humbly toward Him with repentance and receive His love and compassion.
Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ
Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.