Grace has often been defined as, simply, the unmerited favor and blessing of God. Yet, I believe grace is much more than this. It is everything that Christ is to us in our times of suffering — power, might, kindness, mercy and love — to see us through our afflictions and trials.
Jesus says the rain falls on both the just and the unjust (see Matthew 5:45) — referring to given problems of life such as marriage problems, worries over children, financial pressures, sickness. And the righteous may battle against pride, depression and fear, feelings of inadequacy, oppression of the enemy.
You may question why nations suffer — why there is such awful famine, pestilence, flooding, hunger, disease and destruction. Scripture sheds light on the world’s sufferings through its portrayal of God’s people, ancient Israel. That nation suffered similar calamities: holocausts, captivity, economic collapse, strange diseases. At times Israel’s sufferings were so horrible that even their enemies pitied them.
Why did Israel suffer such terrible things? Scripture makes it clear in each instance that it was because they forsook God and turned to idolatry (see Deuteronomy 4:25-28). It is important to note, however, that along with every righteous judgment upon Israel came manifestations of divine grace in preserving a godly remnant, and fulfilling his divine purpose in and through them in spite of their failures (see 4:29-30).
Even though the reason for our trials may remain a mystery, we should be prepared to accept them until Jesus comes for us. There will be no end to them, so the wise believer will determine in his heart to get to know Jesus more intimately and seek him as never before.
Someday in glory, our heavenly Father will reveal to us the beautiful plan he had for us while we were going through hard times. He will show us how we attained patience through all our trials; how we learned compassion for others; how his strength was made perfect in our weakness; how we learned his utter faithfulness toward us; how we became more like him, our precious Lord and Savior. And until the day we meet him face to face, our loving heavenly Father says, “I have all the grace you need to overcome!”