Grace to Stand

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” (Romans 5:1-5 KJV)

Can you “hear” the love of God and of the life of Jesus Christ being imparted to us in this passage of scripture? We can’t be in a hurry; we have to be still and quiet long enough to “hear”, or we’ll miss it! So, take your time, re-read this passage again, and again, and again. Perhaps, instead of gulping down this “bread of life”, you can take small bites and chew it thoroughly, drawing out of it all the spiritual nutrients your soul needs to live.

In the tribulations that Corrie and Betsie went through, can you “see” the refining work that was being done in them, through these tribulations? Can you see the potter molding the clay in these earthly vessels He was preparing for His use? Especially in Corrie. He used Betsie to teach, prepare, and encourage Corrie (some plant the seed, some water…see First Corinthians 3:6-9). When we get to the end of their story, we will see what tremendous and constant use He made of Corrie, well into her eighties. But in the process, He is chipping away at us, adding more to our knowledge of Him, and to our faith in Him, until He has the vessel that He can use. In all of this it is God who is doing the work, not us, as we merely surrender to His hand in our life.

Philippians 2:13 says: “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.”

I Peter 1:3-9: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: whom having not seen ye love: in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”

I believe Corrie and Betsie, having been tried in that fire, and receiving by faith the grace to stand in the midst of it, did also receive the end (result) of their faith, and are reunited with all of their family, even now, in the very presence of Jesus Christ.

May you and I meet them there some day. But until then, we have more to learn from them. ‘Til tomorrow!

[This blog is an ongoing study of the lives and the faith of Christian women who have experienced and demonstrated victorious living through Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The current study is about Corrie ten Boom which began on September 21, 2009.]