Ephesians 1:8

(according to the riches of His grace,) which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, (Ephesians 1:8 NKJV)

Not only did God give us the riches of His grace, but He also made it abound towards us in all wisdom and prudence.  It just begs the question – Is grace abounding in my life?  Am I walking wisely and prudently in the empowerment of grace to say no to unrighteousness (Titus 2:11)?  If I am honest, I have to admit that I am failing in this area of God’s provision in my life.  On a daily basis I can pinpoint areas in which I fail to access the grace to say no to fear, to anger, to impatience, to ingratitude, to pity parties, and the list could go on and on. 

The fault is not on the part of the Father.  He has more than abundantly provided what I need to do life in way that is earmarked by His grace.  I am the one who drops the ball.  The grace is there, so why do I not access it and live in its power?  The answer may vary from person to person, but for me it is the age-old sin of pride.  I don’t turn to grace because I am focused on self rather than Christ.  I am so busy trying to solve everything myself that I don’t look to the sufficiency of what I have in Jesus.  If my finances are low, I start hitting Craigslist for another job.  If I am angry, I think that “strong fellowship” is the answer.  If I am in a situation that calls for patience, I try and find a way around it.  And at the end of all my failed attempts, I revert to the other side of pride in feeling very sorry for myself and like a total failure.

You see, most people consider pride to be when we think too highly of ourselves.  However, it can be the opposite as well – thinking too lowly – because those are just symptoms of pride.  Pride is actually having the focus on self.  To see this in a very tangible way, consider what happened the Garden of Eden.  What happened in the Fall?  Adam and Eve went from being completely focused upon God to being focused on self.  That’s why before they ate the fruit they didn’t even realize they were naked, but the first thing they noticed after the Fall is their own condition.  That’s the point of pride – it focuses on self.  Humility takes our eyes off of self and places them onto Christ.  No wonder why God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. 

Today I will get my eyes off of me and back onto Christ so that I can receive the abounding grace of God as I walk through my daily routine.  This is what Christ must have meant when He said: 

 I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly (John 10:10b NKJV).

Check out Gennarino's devotional on this same verse at:  Ephesians 1:8.