Take Hold of Grace
It's interesting that King David says, "What shall I offer to the Lord for all the good things He has done for me?" (Psalm 116:12). I believe that his words foreshadowed the death and resurrection of Jesus on the cross centuries later. He was saying, "What can I possibly give back to the Lord for all His grace and mercy, for the eternal life He has given me?" David realized that he could never pay God back, so he added, "I will lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord." He was saying, "Lord, I will take all that You have done for me and lift it up. You didn't have to give Your life for me and freely forgive my sin and shame. You rose from the dead and gave me new life and made me a new creation. So I am going to call upon Your name."
Does that make sense to you? Most of us have the mentality that we have to win God's favor. We feel that we have to do good works so God will approve us. But David says, "What shall I give to the Lord? I'll give back to Him what He's given me and live a resurrection life in Him." David had a resurrection mentality and was going to move forward and not let anything stop him from exalting what God had done for him.
The apostle Paul had the same mentality. He says, "I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me" (Philippians 3:12). He wanted to not just know about what Jesus had done, but he wanted to experience all of it. Paul knew that despite shipwrecks and prisons, despite the battles to fight, God had an assignment for him, and that he had the power to win. He was saying, "You have to press on and take hold of what Jesus Christ has done for you. Press into that grace and mercy."
Jesus never said the abundant life was going to be easy. It wasn't easy for Him. It cost Him His life on the cross. But on the third day when He came out of that grave alive again, He turned that bad situation around and brought it out for our good. He wants to take the situations in your life and turn them around for your good. His plan is still working. It worked the day He was raised from the grave, and it is still working for us today. But we have to press on and take hold of all the good things that Christ has done for us.
Does that make sense to you? Most of us have the mentality that we have to win God's favor. We feel that we have to do good works so God will approve us. But David says, "What shall I give to the Lord? I'll give back to Him what He's given me and live a resurrection life in Him." David had a resurrection mentality and was going to move forward and not let anything stop him from exalting what God had done for him.
The apostle Paul had the same mentality. He says, "I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me" (Philippians 3:12). He wanted to not just know about what Jesus had done, but he wanted to experience all of it. Paul knew that despite shipwrecks and prisons, despite the battles to fight, God had an assignment for him, and that he had the power to win. He was saying, "You have to press on and take hold of what Jesus Christ has done for you. Press into that grace and mercy."
Jesus never said the abundant life was going to be easy. It wasn't easy for Him. It cost Him His life on the cross. But on the third day when He came out of that grave alive again, He turned that bad situation around and brought it out for our good. He wants to take the situations in your life and turn them around for your good. His plan is still working. It worked the day He was raised from the grave, and it is still working for us today. But we have to press on and take hold of all the good things that Christ has done for us.