In I King 9:6 God told King Solomon, “But if you or your sons indeed turn away from following Me … (:7) then I will cut off Israel from the land …”. Here again we see that God DOES keep His promises — for good or for bad, and in this case, for bad, because Solomon and Israel did not in fact do their part and walk in His ways. They could not keep a covenant based on good works — and neither can we!

The whole history of Israel is a lesson in the inability of God’s people to consistently obey Him, and of our need for grace from Him instead. Time and time again we see it in Israel — and in our own lives as well. How often do we find ourselves like Paul in Romans 7, doing the very thing we know not to do?! We are so dependent upon the grace of God — and thank God that is what He gives us in Christ: “By GRACE are you saved through faith …” (Eph. 2:8).

So if we know that in Christ God deals with us by grace, why do we continue in the mindset — so hard to dispel — that God deals with us by works: that if we will do “1-2-3” then He will do “a-b-c” for us? Like Solomon and Israel, we always fail in that kind of “transaction”, and always will. No, God deals with us by grace; He gives us what we do NOT deserve!

Today as you pray, do not ask that God would give you what you “deserve” for your obedience, but that He would give you MORE than you deserve, by grace. Thankfully, we have every confidence that this is exactly what He will do, for He has demonstrated in Christ that is just the kind of God He is!