Do you ever have times when the Lord seems to be impressing a certain area, a certain thought, upon your heart? As of late, He has often been bringing to my heart and mind “grace” . . .
Grace is so often spoken of in Scripture, yet I find it interesting that it is specifically mentioned in regards to women in the book of Proverbs . . .
Being a gracious woman is a part of the beautiful, internal adornment that God desires His daughters to have . . . and it is an aspect of having the “gentle and quiet spirit” that is spoken of in 1 Peter. Yet what is this ‘grace’, and how should it be evidenced in my life? In my words, my thoughts, my actions, my service?
According to Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language ‘grace’ is:
And ‘gracious’ is defined as:
How convicting these definitions are! One with a heart that is gracious will have kindness towards others flowing from them . . . their words will be kind and merciful . . . they will be seeking ways to unselfishly serve and bless others . . . when offenses are done against them, instead of responding with anger, bitterness, or self-pity, they respond with love and forgiveness, giving and serving and “turning the other cheek” . . . imparting “unmerited blessings.”
As young women of God, grace should be such a near and real aspect of our character that it becomes our ‘disposition’ (as the definition of ‘grace’ shows), that it becomes a natural outflowing from us.
While this is our desire, how important it is to recognize where this wellspring of grace is derived from! It is only through our Lord . . . it is through Him that this grace is given, it is through His strength that we are able to have this grace, for God is the originator of grace.
When looking in the concordance for verses that speak of ‘grace’, the vast majority are in reference to the grace of the Lord, and the grace that is bestowed on all of mankind, and specifically given towards us, His children. For He is “the God of all grace” (1 Peter 5:10.)
Recognizing that it is only from the Lord that we are able to have this grace, may our hearts be ever seeking to draw near to the Lord, seeking to walk in accordance with His word, and asking in prayer for the Lord to fill our hearts with His grace so that this grace can then be poured out to others. To our families, our friends, and yes, even our enemies.
One area that this grace is often evidenced (or not evidenced) is through the words that we speak. In the book of Colossians, exhortation is given for our speech to be with grace . . .
One of the words that stood out to me as I read this verse yet again, was the word “always.” Grace should adorn our speech not only when it is easy, not only when we feel like we are in a ‘good mood’, not only when someone is deserving of grace, but always. Every word that proceeds from our mouths should be adorned with this grace . . . being kind, merciful, benevolent, obliging and giving towards others.
The parallel given in this particular verse is “as though seasoned with salt.” The thought that first comes to mind is that salt is a preservative, and gracious words spoken from a pure heart can preserve relationships, preserve good will, preserve our witness for Christ, and so much more.
Being a preservative also inhibits bacteria from growing and reproducing . . . our gracious words can do the same. A gracious word given to one who is downhearted can uplift and encourage. A gracious word falling from our lips when anger is present, helps to bring calmness and helps to dispel the tension there. Like an abundance of water upon a spreading fire . . . or a gentle and soft breeze on a hot day.
A gracious word spoken to ones who have wronged us also demonstrates love and forgiveness, and is a picture of the abundant grace and forgiveness that Christ has shown towards us. A gracious word spoken to those we love, allows the light of Christ to shine through us to them, and again, demonstrates to them our love and care that we have for them.
Salt is also something that enhances the flavor . . . and if our words are ‘seasoned’ with grace, they are more encouraging, more edifying, more uplifting to others than if they were absent of this ‘flavor enhancer.’
And again, it is only as our hearts are yielded to the Lord, that this grace can become a part of our character. May this be the earnest desire of our hearts, as young women desiring to be obedient to our Lord, to seek to adorn our hearts with this God-given grace.
So then, the next time the opportunity for hasty words or angry looks or an unforgiving spirit arises, we will instead let the grace of Christ flow through us to everyone that the Lord brings across our paths . . . first of all to our dear families, our parents, our brothers, our sisters; and to the church, friends, neighbors, strangers we meet on the street, the checker at the grocery store, to everyone. And with practice and the yielding of our will to Christ, may this adornment of graciousness become such a part of who we are, that it will be the natural outflowing from our lips and from our hearts.
-Posted by Sarah
Grace is so often spoken of in Scripture, yet I find it interesting that it is specifically mentioned in regards to women in the book of Proverbs . . .
“A gracious woman attains honor, and ruthless men attain riches.” Proverbs 11:16
Being a gracious woman is a part of the beautiful, internal adornment that God desires His daughters to have . . . and it is an aspect of having the “gentle and quiet spirit” that is spoken of in 1 Peter. Yet what is this ‘grace’, and how should it be evidenced in my life? In my words, my thoughts, my actions, my service?
According to Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language ‘grace’ is:
“Favor; good will; kindness; disposition to oblige another”
And ‘gracious’ is defined as:
“Favorable; kind; benevolent; merciful; disposed to forgive offenses and impart unmerited blessings; expressing kindness and favor”
How convicting these definitions are! One with a heart that is gracious will have kindness towards others flowing from them . . . their words will be kind and merciful . . . they will be seeking ways to unselfishly serve and bless others . . . when offenses are done against them, instead of responding with anger, bitterness, or self-pity, they respond with love and forgiveness, giving and serving and “turning the other cheek” . . . imparting “unmerited blessings.”
As young women of God, grace should be such a near and real aspect of our character that it becomes our ‘disposition’ (as the definition of ‘grace’ shows), that it becomes a natural outflowing from us.
While this is our desire, how important it is to recognize where this wellspring of grace is derived from! It is only through our Lord . . . it is through Him that this grace is given, it is through His strength that we are able to have this grace, for God is the originator of grace.
When looking in the concordance for verses that speak of ‘grace’, the vast majority are in reference to the grace of the Lord, and the grace that is bestowed on all of mankind, and specifically given towards us, His children. For He is “the God of all grace” (1 Peter 5:10.)
Recognizing that it is only from the Lord that we are able to have this grace, may our hearts be ever seeking to draw near to the Lord, seeking to walk in accordance with His word, and asking in prayer for the Lord to fill our hearts with His grace so that this grace can then be poured out to others. To our families, our friends, and yes, even our enemies.
One area that this grace is often evidenced (or not evidenced) is through the words that we speak. In the book of Colossians, exhortation is given for our speech to be with grace . . .
“Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.” Colossians 4:6
One of the words that stood out to me as I read this verse yet again, was the word “always.” Grace should adorn our speech not only when it is easy, not only when we feel like we are in a ‘good mood’, not only when someone is deserving of grace, but always. Every word that proceeds from our mouths should be adorned with this grace . . . being kind, merciful, benevolent, obliging and giving towards others.
The parallel given in this particular verse is “as though seasoned with salt.” The thought that first comes to mind is that salt is a preservative, and gracious words spoken from a pure heart can preserve relationships, preserve good will, preserve our witness for Christ, and so much more.
Being a preservative also inhibits bacteria from growing and reproducing . . . our gracious words can do the same. A gracious word given to one who is downhearted can uplift and encourage. A gracious word falling from our lips when anger is present, helps to bring calmness and helps to dispel the tension there. Like an abundance of water upon a spreading fire . . . or a gentle and soft breeze on a hot day.
A gracious word spoken to ones who have wronged us also demonstrates love and forgiveness, and is a picture of the abundant grace and forgiveness that Christ has shown towards us. A gracious word spoken to those we love, allows the light of Christ to shine through us to them, and again, demonstrates to them our love and care that we have for them.
Salt is also something that enhances the flavor . . . and if our words are ‘seasoned’ with grace, they are more encouraging, more edifying, more uplifting to others than if they were absent of this ‘flavor enhancer.’
And again, it is only as our hearts are yielded to the Lord, that this grace can become a part of our character. May this be the earnest desire of our hearts, as young women desiring to be obedient to our Lord, to seek to adorn our hearts with this God-given grace.
So then, the next time the opportunity for hasty words or angry looks or an unforgiving spirit arises, we will instead let the grace of Christ flow through us to everyone that the Lord brings across our paths . . . first of all to our dear families, our parents, our brothers, our sisters; and to the church, friends, neighbors, strangers we meet on the street, the checker at the grocery store, to everyone. And with practice and the yielding of our will to Christ, may this adornment of graciousness become such a part of who we are, that it will be the natural outflowing from our lips and from our hearts.
-Posted by Sarah
A lovely, edifying, and challening post, Sarah; I'm so thankful the Lord brought us together♥
ReplyDeleteGood Morning Miss Sarah,
ReplyDeleteA beautiful post...and such a gentle reminder of how we need to be constantly examining ourselves, as women, in light of the scriptures.
I was especially touched by your the last line..."And with practice and the yielding of our will to Christ, may this adornment of graciousness become such a part of who we are..." So often I think, in this fast paced world, that we as woman tend to have a "check off the list" mentality because of all the demands that might be put upon us, and so instead of really taking the needed time to develop something, we tend to say, "Okay, that's done, on to the next thing." This can never be our mentality with the things of God...for growing up in Him is a lifelong process and journey. As you and I are both well aware of, we improve our skills at sewing or cooking when we take the time to practice, and to learn from our mistakes. We should take the same time and effort (even more!) with the things that are important to God.
Also, as "keepers of the home" the Lord has given us charge over certain areas, and, because of this, we tend to become very used to being a controlling force in many ways...yet we can never be this with God...yielding our will to His is sometimes difficult...but ever so important. And oh what peace we find when we do!
Have a blessed day,
Mrs. Laura
Thank you so much, Joyce, for your sweet comment! I am glad that the post was a blessing to you. And I, too, am thankful that the Lord allowed our paths to cross. He is good, isn’t He?!
ReplyDeleteGood morning to you, Mrs. Laura, and thank you for the words of wisdom and exhortation that you shared. I so appreciated it! It is such a blessing to be able to learn and glean from the wisdom of ‘older women’ . . . thank you!
ReplyDeleteI can relate to the “check off the list” mentality . . . I have had that feeling sometimes when there was something that needed to be worked on in my life, or a sin that needed to be conquered. I wished that I could just get it taken care of now. Yet like you shared, this life as a child of God is a journey, and we learn and grow along the way, and with practice, train ourselves through the Lord working in our lives, how to walk in obedience to Him. And again like you shared, how important it is for us to yield our will to His, and then, yes, what peace comes when we do this!
Thank you again, Mrs. Laura, for sharing all that you did! Blessings to you!