I Want Grace And Peace

May 19, 2021Written Devotionals

 “May grace (God’s favor) and peace (which is perfect well-being, all necessary good, all spiritual prosperity, and freedom from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts) be multiplied to you in [the full, personal, precise, and correct] knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”   2 Peter 1:2    Amplified Bible

Grace and Peace to you in Jesus’ name!  I have often used that line as a general salutation to begin letters.  Paul uses this greeting repeatedly to open many of his New Testament letters.  Because he uses them so often there must be significance and power that we may not realize. Peter gives us a good understanding of the anointing found in those words in the verse above.

God’s grace is His freely giving us, with His love, those things that we do not deserve.  It is His favor just poured out on us because He loves us and is pleased to pour out on us.  Who doesn’t want that to be a part of their life?  Then look at what the word peace means in this salutation.  It is the peace that comes when we are experiencing that state of “perfect well-being”.  Did you know that this is what the Lord desires for every day of your life?  When was the last time you felt like this described your mental and emotional state?  It can be yours and really should be yours.  It is the peace that comes because all that you need is already prepared for you, waiting to be received by you.  It means that you are spiritually prospering and growing in the truths of the Lord that leads to freedom and liberty in all areas, be they physical, emotional, financial, relational, or any other thing you may encounter.  Finally, peace means that fear is not a factor in your daily life.  Think about some things that cause you anxiety and stress on a daily basis.  Specifically, what are you worried about today, what is troubling you?  If you can operate in His grace and peace those anxieties will pass right through you and onto the Lord who will handle them through your faith.

Doesn’t that sound like a place that you want to be?  Peter also tells us how we can walk in this state of grace and peace both spiritually as well as physically.  The key is in the ending of his verse where he tells us how these twin blessings of grace and peace are multiplied onto us.  We can fully enjoy these daily gifts from God by our decision to have a greater relationship with Him.  It is when we have the full personal knowledge of Him that grace and peacefully operate in us.

Knowing Him indicates a very close personal relationship with Jesus.  In fact, it implies an intimate relationship with Him.  Intimate in the same manner that husband and wife are intimate.  They are exclusive of one another and have an accord, unity, and harmony together that are more intimate than all other relationships.  That is what we should strive for with Jesus.  The more time we spend with Him in the Word and in quiet time listening to His and personal words and directives of love for us personally, the more we will experience that full measure of His grace and peace.

J Todd Hostetler

www.cityonahillTC.org

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