A Second Experience of Grace (2 Corinthians 1:15 ESV)
Once you have given your life to Jesus, you have the completeness of the Holy Spirit dwelling on the inside of you.
When I read “a second experience of grace,” it reminded me of a second wind when you are running. It’s that extra strength that kicks in to keep you running, to keep you enduring, to keep you pushing. I believe we are experiencing another wind of grace: the grace that empowers and equips a believer to do God’s work. The grace that aids us. The grace that enables us to continue. It’s the work of the Holy Spirit, who takes up residence in our hearts.
I don’t mean a separate event or a higher level of salvation. I mean a fresh, renewed supply of grace for the next stretch of the race. (In 2 Corinthians 1, Paul is writing about a second visit to the Corinthians, a second occasion of grace for them.)
And here is what I want you to hold onto in this post: God has given us grace to do the work He’s called us to, but we can’t receive it clearly when the noise is louder than His voice.
What is the work God has called you to?
Identify it, and seek His help to build it and to continue to steward it. See the grace of God for what He has breathed into you.
However, in order to do that, we need to silence the noise. We cannot hear God clearly when everything is turned up so loudly: social media, opinions, debates, the news, politics, and more.
My pastor made a powerful statement that has been ringing in my mind: “God is not going to compete with your world.” The things that have your attention? God is not going to compete with them. He’s not going to adjust or change Himself. I must adjust myself to Him so that I may hear Him.
Grace over earthly wisdom
Here’s where Paul’s words met me. In 2 Corinthians 1:12 he writes, “For our boast is this: the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you.”
Paul is talking about the inner assurance and peace that come from living honestly and with pure motives. It’s that internal witness that checks your thoughts, choices, and behavior against God’s standard. His good conduct did not come from clever human wisdom or pride, but from living by the grace and help of God.
Notice what Paul sets side by side: earthly wisdom and the grace of God. Earthly wisdom is the world’s voice, theopinions, the strategies, the headlines, the constant input telling us how to live and what to think. Paul says that wasn’t what drove him. Grace did. And that’s the connection for us. If we want to live by grace, we can’t be steered by the noise.The louder earthly wisdom gets, the harder it is to hear what grace is leading us to do.
Then notice the word “simplicity.” A life crowded with noise isn’t simple. It’s pulled in a hundred directions. Silencing the noise isn’t just a nice habit. It makes room for the simple, sincere life Paul is describing, one led by God’s grace instead of the world’s wisdom.
So the question becomes: what noise is keeping you from living by grace?
Personally Testimony
Recently, I’ve been distracted. My life has just been noisy with the busyness of work and year-end closeout at the office, and I’ve also been lazy and sleeping in, so I’ve missed my daily touchpoint with the Lord. I felt distant. I was going through the motions, and I began to feel the pressure of life and just overwhelmed. So what did I do to silence the noise?
First, I adjusted the time limits on my social apps. Each one used to have its own hour, and now all the major ones I use share about an hour combined.
Then I moved my cell phone over by the window, so I have to get all the way out of bed to turn off the alarm. Since I’m already out of bed, it’s easier to just start my day, and I go to the Lord’s presence even when I don’t feel like it.
I just make myself show up. And I know I’m in the right place because His presence meets me, and I’m like, “Oh my goodness, this is where I’m supposed to be!” It’s confirmed when He speaks to me in His Word and encourages my heart, and it’s confirmed again when I go to service and hear it in the message. That’s how I’ve been adjusting myself to silence the noise and listen for the whisper, and it’s helping me with what He has put in my hands to steward. Now I feel lighter and strengthened.
So how do we silence the noise?
- Identify the noise in your life. Is it your family’s opinions on your life choices? Is it the news? Is it all the headlines? What is the specific noise in your life? It’s what you’ve been listening to and carrying, not what you think people will say.
- Decide how to silence it. Do you need to limit your screen time? Do you need to order a brick (a small device that locks the distracting apps on your phone)? Do you need to limit your conversations, or the type of conversations you’re having? Do you need to move?
- Replace the silence with the Word of God. I believe the Word of God is an absolute game changer. When we spend time in the Word, investigate the text, and live in that contemplative curiosity, our lives begin to change, and we begin to encounter God in a fresh way.
- Practice reading and living the Word daily. The Word doesn’t change your life if you are inconsistent, and you can’t see evidence of the Word alive in your life when you don’t apply it. Spend time with the Word daily (daily touchpoints with the Lord) and practice it daily in your everyday life. How would you practice the Word?
Let’s make this practical for you…
Here is a simple but very hard example, Luke 6:27-28: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” How can I practice this today?
- Pray for their salvation, that they may return to the Lord. God has the power to save.
- Pray for blessing. Loving them is desiring good for them, and Scripture tells us to bless those who curse us (Luke 6:28).
- Pray for the restraint of evil, and pray for God’s justice. The foundation of God’s throne is righteousness and justice. He is justice.
When you do this, you are first obeying the command of Jesus, which you will be held accountable for. You begin to grow spiritually. It helps release anger, bitterness, and the desire for revenge. It also shows that you are acting as a child of God. Is this hard? Yes, it can be. But remember the grace of God that brings you help. Pray the Word of God over them. This is more about your heart than about them. Make sure you have a clean heart and don’t live in bitterness. Bitterness is a rotten seed of darkness that will destroy your life.
Reduce the loudness of the world so that you may hear the whisper of the Lord, and do what He has placed in your hads, to fulfill the purpose of your life.
Why this matters
This morning I was thanking the Lord for the plan He has for my life. It’s not my plan; it’s His, and He allows me to be part of it. Yes, sometimes we may not understand, but we know He is a good God with good plans, and what He has for us is good.
God has a plan for your life, and I want you to walk in the fullness of it. The noise is what keeps us from hearing it, and grace is what equips us to walk it out. So I’ll ask you again: what is the work God has called you to? Now that you’ve named the noise, what will you silence so that you can hear Him and receive the grace to do it?
In order to walk in that plan, you will need to reduce the noise and receive His grace.
Surrendering, dwelling, and abiding with the Lord is the reminder:
- Surrender. In His presence, bow before Him and lay everything at His altar.
- Dwell. Take up residence in His Word and spend time in it.
- Abide. Remain connected to Him, consistent and present with Him.
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Thank You
We hope you loved exploring this topic with us. We pray it blessed you to surrender, dwell, and abide in God’s Presence. Now, it’s your turn; which question stood out most to you? Which one will you ask someone today? Drop a comment below, and let’s keep the conversation going! We can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
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