Grace is a word much used in Christian faith. The Psalmist wrote (Ps. 84:11), "The Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly."
The Apostle Paul often used the word grace. Upon him rested much of the toil and glory of spreading the gospel of Christ Jesus, for he was an educator, a writer, a lecturer, a traveler, an organizer of the early Christian churches. And according to his own statement he had deep need for the grace of God. Here are his words (II Cor. 12:7–9): "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
All through Paul's writings one finds his conviction that grace and truth came by Christ Jesus. Evidently the answer to his own prayer was the grace of God to carry on under whatever circumstances. The dictionaries make it plain that this spiritual quality in its largest sense means the mercy of God; the kindness, the clemency, of God extended to man; the operation of divine Love; the divine influence acting within the heart. God is the source of grace and man the recipient of it. Therefore it would appear that the grace of God is the divine influence which enables one to cope with difficulties until they are adjusted and healed. It gives peace and contentment in the midst of turmoil. It is not religious ecstasy or emotion; it is the serene understanding of the abiding Christ, which strengthens one against temptation and carries one through to victory and healing.
