Always remember that we are saved by grace and must learn to live by grace and faith to fulfil God’s purpose for us on this earth. Grace is God’s favour but it’s not just God’s favour. It’s God’s favour but it’s also the power of the Holy Spirit being made available to us to enable us to do the things that He tells us to do. We can’t achieve our goals solely through human effort, struggle, or self-discipline. While these qualities are important and necessary, Jesus said, “Apart from me, you can do nothing.” Think for a moment about how different your life would be if everything you did was motivated by faith and carried out in faith.
God wants us to not only receive Christ by faith but to also live by faith. At some point, most people reach the end of their own efforts and realize that they cannot achieve salvation on their own. They recognize their need for God and, for a moment, invite Jesus into their lives. However, once they begin reading the Bible, studying, or listening to sermons, they often revert to relying on their own strength to try to follow the teachings of the Bible instead of depending on God. We often forget that we are not only saved by grace, but we must also learn to live by grace and faith. My friend, don’t rush to do things in your own strength unless you have received revelation from God.
Paul was chosen by God to reveal the concept of grace to the church, and his qualifications stemmed from his life experiences. Everything changed for Paul after his encounter with the Lord. Paul starts out in Galatians 1, verse 1 “Paul, an apostle – sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead”. He makes it very clear that he didn’t call himself to do what he was doing, that he was not an apostle by the will of man. No man put him in that position. It was crucial for Paul to defend his apostleship because if the false teachers could discredit his apostleship, they would also undermine the message he preached.
Therefore, in Galatians 1:1, Paul established his apostleship as the authority from which he spoke. He didn’t put himself in that position, he was called by God to do what he was doing. The point Paul was making is that his calling was divine. He didn’t call himself, nor did any other person or group call him. God Himself called Paul to his ministry. Therefore, those who resisted Paul were resisting God, who sent him. Knowing that your actions align with God’s will provides courage, strength, and the perseverance to complete the task He has called you to. But when you do something just to please others without knowing if it’s right for you, you won’t do it well. Please ensure you can say, “I wholeheartedly believe that what I am doing is in the will of God.”
Don’t you think that’s a good idea? I truly believe I am called to do what I’m doing. I feel very comfortable in my current role. I have no concerns or fears about it, and I’m not worried about what others think because I know that God has called me to this purpose. Therefore, if God has called me to do it, it’s up to Him to make it succeed. It’s not even up to me today to make this good, it’s totally up to God. What I have to do is just surrender to God and let him do what he wants to do. Satan is a deceiver. He’s constantly trying to discourage us. We should rely on God’s Word in general and specifically on the voice of the Holy Spirit as our guide. Once we are certain of this, we must persist regardless of our circumstances.