“And the God of all grace…will himself restore you…”

                 Grace… Think for just a minute on that.  You probably know how it feels when someone has shown you grace or been gracious to you for absolutely no reason other than they wanted to do so.  As good as the feeling is to receive grace, it is the gracious character of the one showing grace that captures our attention.  Especially if it is from someone whom we regard as a superior.  He or she doesn’t have to act that way toward us, but still does.  As we think about it, we say, “Amazing…”  And our respect and appreciation for this gracious person only grows.  Isn’t that the way it is with God, only more?

So what can we add to the innumerable volumes already written describing God’s grace?  Not much.  We don’t want to focus necessarily on God or his grace, but on “the God of all grace.”  Clearly he is not the God of some grace, but all grace everywhere at all times for every situation.  Now that’s a lot of grace!  But God’s grace isn’t even limited to those boundaries.  Since God is gracious in himself (2 Chronicles 30:9), his grace is limitless.  One pastor said God’s grace was as all encompassing as the water a fish swims in.

In all the biblical passages that speak of God and his grace, only this one in 1^st Peter describes him as “the God of all grace.”  Why?  The idea of Christian suffering appears in its chapters more than any book of the Bible.  Linking purity and obedience to fiery trials (1:6-7), he winds his way to chapter 5 where he begins by addressing church leaders, specifically pastors (5:1-4).  He broadens his audience in verse 5 with “all of you,” and then points the people to God’s grace with an exhortation.  “[C]lothe yourselves with humility toward one another,” he writes, “because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’” quoting Proverbs 3:34.  The only way, according to God, to gain his grace is through humility, a mindset of emptying ourselves of all pride, self-centeredness and arrogance.  Sure, this is hard to do, but how did we find the Savior in the first place?  Didn’t we come to realize that our ways, our religion and our efforts were at least completely ineffective and at worst contributing toward the difficulty of finding God on his terms?  And wasn’t our faith the first demonstration of our humility?  Of course.  Therefore “humble yourselves…” (v. 6).

Peter next tells us to “cast all your anxiety on [God] because he cares for you” (v. 7).  In other words, trust God with e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g — your future, your work, your struggles, your weaknesses.  Then he mentions our “enemy the devil [who] prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (v. 8).  You mean on top of being persecuted and suffering for being a Christian, now you say that an enemy wants to eat me for lunch??  Yes!  We are personal targets of the devil, in his cross hairs.  And not only us, but also our “brothers throughout the world [who] are undergoing the same kind of sufferings” (v. 9).  This is the way the God of all grace treats us?  Again, yes, and verse 10 explains why.

But before we get to Peter’s answer, notice that his call to “[r]esist [the devil]” destroys the idea of dualism.  Dualism is the notion that two equally powerful forces or principles — good and evil — run the universe.  So when bad things happen to people, they should simply endure the difficulties and encourage themselves until things get better.  Not so with Christianity.  God says to resist by “standing firm in the faith,” deepening your trust in him and his revelation, knowing that we have been “called…to his eternal glory in Christ” (v. 10).  And “after you have suffered a little while…” God will “restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”  Notice the contrast between “eternal glory” and “suffered a little while.”  What Peter is saying is that we do indeed find God’s plan to be in the trials, in the suffering and in the persecution, which last only for a short time.  A humble response from us will yield character development and eternal benefits, not dualistic endurance.  And yes, this is why, in the light of the global suffering of his Bride and a prowling enemy, God is the God of all grace — grace sufficient for every need and every trial.

God’s grace can be compared to a well of infinite supply.  All of it is available to every believer worldwide.  Acquiring this supply depends on the size of our bucket (humble faith).  How big is your bucket?  How regularly do you dip into his supply?  He is, after all, the God of all grace.