Different Things God is teaching Me

SURROUNDED BY GRACE

THE FALSE CLAIM: "I HAVE WORKED FOR EVERYTHING I HAVE...NOTHING WAS HANDED TO ME"

“Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest— when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage...then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’“ And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth..." ~Deuteronomy 8:11-14,17-18

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The context I often witness surrounding this statement, is one that God (through the apostle John [see 2 Peter 1:19-20]) warns us about: The Pride of Life.

"...The pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. - 1 John 2:16

And the spirit that is often behind this statement, I have seen, is that of one excusing himself to withhold mercy and help from someone; specifically one who is deemed as undeserving or lazy. Yet this spirit, God (through the apostle Paul) warns us about:

"For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?" ~1 Corinthians 4:7

If this applies to the spiritual blessings of grace from God to us, how much more does it apply to the physical blessings of grace that come from Him? Can we not see the absurdity of someone claiming or implying that they orchestrated all the events that led up to the success they have now in their lives? Can any one person, really claim that NOTHING was handed to them?

Grace, whether in spiritual or physical form, has been handed out multiple times to us from God. There is no form or step-by-step process that ultimately has led to our being blessed and successful. God (through Solomon, also) testified of this in Ecclesiastes 9:11,

"I, Solomon, returned and saw under the sun that— The race is not to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong, Nor bread to the wise, Nor riches to men of understanding, Nor favor to men of skill; But time and chance happen to them all."

Apart from God, it really does seem it is chance that determines the "good fortune" of people. In another place, God (through Solomon) says it again:

"The preparations of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. ...A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps." ~Proverbs 16:1, 9

Answer this question: When you get a job, who was orchestrating the events of your success: You or God? When that HR rep. or boss, who may not have known anything about you except based on your proclaimed resume and word-of-mouth and took a "chance on you", was that you working to earn that acceptance of your application, or was that grace (God's grace) opening opportunities in that moment?

My friend, you and I are guilty of the sin of being prideful of our life when we forget (Him ultimately, as well as) those who invested into our lives. We have had parents, grandparents, foster parents, siblings, relatives, friends, even strangers...take us under their wing, be a garden and be a harbor from the storms of this fallen life that would've kept us down and never growing. The result of your success is not because of the connections you & I have made but because God, in His mercy, made those connections for us!
The undeniable, undiluted truth is that ultimately we have not worked to earn anything; grace first, invested into our lives and placed under us the launching pad that enabled us to then propel and work further, while grace continued pursuing us, to guide and sustain us all the days of our lives. [Psalm 23:6]
Tell me: Have you and I alone, of our own will, discipline, accord...preserved our own health? Have we been conscientious of every virus and disease that came across us, and have been able, by our own work and wit, successfully fended off all and kept ourselves healthy so we could go to work? Or have we managed, by our own diligence, skill, and maturity, managed to keep ourselves alive in our daily commute to our jobs?

YOU & I ARE SURROUNDED BY GOD'S GRACE! No, of course God doesn't condone laziness! And neither does He call us to condone it either! The Proverbs are full of God's rebukes against laziness! [See Proverbs 10:26, 12:24 & 27, 13:4, 15:19, 19:24, 20:4, 21:25, 22:13, 24:30-34, & 26:13-16] Yes, you are called to guide your affairs with discretion while you deal (not prodigally, but) generously. [See Psalm 112:5] We are called to labor with our hands that we may be fruitful and bring about blessing for others as well as ourselves! [See Ephesians 4:27 & Acts 20:32-35]
Yet let us cease continuing to presume, self-deceive, and idolize ourselves with the prideful lie that all we have is because we have worked to earn it, rather than it being because grace was given to enable us to be able to work in the first place. WE ARE SURROUNDED AND PRESERVED BY GRACE. His Word says, "I the Lord am He who made you, and not you yourselves..." (Psalm 100:3) We are where we are, BECAUSE OF HIM, BECAUSE HE IS GRACE.

Let us continue to deny and crucify the folly of our self-glory and angrandizement. It is not truth. We have not earned, we have been given. And when we realize that, not only will we no longer have pathetic reasons to utilize in blinding ourselves to excuse ourselves from withholding mercy and help from those we deem (often presume, Psalm 19:13) undeserving, but also be liberated to experience the blessing and refreshing of giving to them. God pours out His mercy and blessings on us daily. We are not greater than our Master. We must meditate on His footsteps, then go and do likewise. And if you know that you lack the passion and desire to do so, praise God! you don't have to earn the desire to do His Will, either; He will willingly, lovingly,, and abundantly give it when you have asked, sought, and knocked His door, for it.

“Do not think in your heart, after the Lord your God has cast them out before you, saying, ‘Because of my righteousness the Lord has brought me in to possess this land’ ...understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people." ~Deuteronomy 9:4,6

"But I say to you,  love...bless...do good...and pray for those who spitefully use you...that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for  He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." ~Matthew 5:44-45