Taking a Stable Stance

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(Romans 5:2) Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we hope in the glory of God.

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First, grace is something--a place, a wide and spacious place--that we can enter into. It's a place for us to permanently live because it's God's presence ... and He welcomes us there. Outside of God's grace, life is very different and sadly too familiar. Second, until we cross that threshold of physical death and get our new bodies in Heaven, our ability to dwell with God in His grace is dependent on us taking a particular stance. To remain in His presence, we need to stand up and resist the a noisy deceptions and crazy doubts that mock our privilege of living in God's grace.

A (Personal)
Why would I enter God's throne of grace with merely a pocket-size faith when I have both access and permission the haul off much more mercy and grace than that ... more than a fleet's worth? My faith in God's love and His faithfulness permits me to approach Him and to stand with great boldness and to ask for His grace with great confidence (Hebrews 4:16; 12:12,28).

A (Psychological)
One of the essential components of a good assessment of people in crisis (whether the person is a survivor of a natural disaster, a criminal assault, or a relational breakdown) is an inquiry about the person's resources--does he or she have a good support system of family members or a reliable network of healthy friends, for example. This Scripture gives evidence of a profound resource for people, better than a person with a financial crisis being given legitimate access to Gates' or Clintons' financial empires. The incalculable difference is the perfection of God's wisdom, power, and love that is as constantly good as it is constantly available.

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Lord, when the hurricanes line up to assault my faith (and these storms have familiar names--Fear, Shame, Accusation, Unemployment, Cancer, Incompetence, Tiredness, Boredom), remind me, please, to stand erect with my shoulders, chin, and eyes defiantly free of sin. I choose to remain humbly receptive to Your love. Help me remember that my preferred, permanent address is in Your throne room of grace. I'm going to stubbornly stay there so I can watch Your glory.