Misunderstanding The Grace of God

Several years ago I submitted an article to an online site that said it was a Christian article directory.  It was a short article entitled "Receiving the Gospel."  It was deemed to be unfit for a Christian article directory.  The editor of the directory said to me in an e-mail that he believed man was saved by grace without baptism which, in the context of the article submitted, meant without obeying Peter's directive on the Day of Pentecost as found in Acts 2:38.

His position was not uncommon then or now.  Millions of people have read Paul's statement in Eph. 2:8-9, "for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (NKJV) and said,  "okay, that is it, end of the story."  There is no need to study further.

I want to say first of all that is a poor approach to God's word to isolate and elevate part of his word over and above the rest of his word.  That approach makes you and me judge over the word; we make ourselves God and decide what is vital in the word and what is not.  Jesus when tempted by the devil said that "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Matt. 4:4 NKJV)  That’s "by every word … of God," not just by the words of one's choosing.

In the second place, it needs to be pointed out that nearly every single person who claims to be a Christian believes salvation is by grace through faith, including myself.  Is there a person on earth who thinks he has always done the right thing and never sinned?  I can name many of my sins.  Some of them have been an embarrassment to me, all of them of which I am aware have lowered my self-esteem, some have hurt others, all have hurt my relationship with God.  I will never be the person I could have been due to the sin in my life.  How about you, if you are honest, how about you?  Yes, we are saved by grace for we are undeserving of salvation.

Grace is often defined as unmerited favor, the unmerited favor of God toward man, and that hits the mark pretty close to dead center.  When one knows he is a sinner he knows that on his own merits, he does not deserve salvation.  I have often thought I needed to be punished, could almost wish I could do it myself.  There is no thought of deserving anything other than that—punishment.

Grace encompasses all the good things God has done for us in bringing us salvation.   When God sent Jesus into the world was that not an act of grace?  When Jesus went to the cross for us shedding his blood for our salvation was that not God's grace? 

When God gave us his word was that not an act of grace?  When God confirmed his word by signs and wonders in the first century allowing us to know that it was God giving the word was that not an act of grace?

There is a passage in Rom. 2:4 that bears on the thing I am trying to get at.  It says, "Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?" (Rom 2:4 NKJV)  Is this not God's grace?  Is not his goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering toward us that we might repent of our sins God's grace?

Peter says, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV)  Is this not grace?  Just God giving us time to get our life in order is that not grace?  Yes, we are saved by God's grace working in so many different ways for our salvation without which we could not be saved, none of us.  

But here is my problem with those in the denominational world on the subject of grace.  Their idea is that one is essentially saved by God's grace alone without man being under any obligation to do anything.  They see grace as unconditional, dependent only upon faith.

They reject baptism as essential to salvation.  I see it as another aspect of God's grace.  If God tells me to do something to have my sins forgiven ("repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins"--Acts 2:38 KJV) he was under absolutely no obligation whatsoever to give me that option whereby my sins could be forgiven.  I was shown grace by him telling me what to do and giving me a promise that upon doing it my sins will be forgiven--that to me is an act of grace on his part.

Denominationalists argue that it is not, that it’s works.  Their idea is that there is nothing you can do for salvation other than depend on God's grace with the idea being that it is a kind of a one-time packaged deal given to you at the point of belief by which you are then and there saved without any further action on your part.  Lest anyone misunderstand I am talking about initial salvation.

That thinking reminds me of a Christmas gift I received in the past.  I received a gift card.  To use it I had to get in the car, drive a distance, take up my time and make an effort, find what I wanted, drag it up to checkout, haul it out to the car, drive home, and unload it.  Nevertheless, I saw the gift card as an act of grace on the part of the giver.  I never once said, "This is work, not a gift."  In fact, I will take all of the gift cards you want to give me and praise you for your grace towards me despite the fact I will have to put forth a little effort to get the benefit of them.  

Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." (Matt. 7:21 NKJV)  When Peter said, "repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38 KJV), when Ananias told Saul, "arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins" (Acts 22:16 NKJV), I wonder was that the will of the Father in heaven?  Was that grace?  What do you think?  Can you be saved without doing the will of the Father?  Jesus says no, most denominational people say, in the case of baptism, yes.

But, let me talk a little about salvation by grace through faith versus salvation by works.  Paul talks at length about this in the book of Romans and in Galatians.  Under the Law of Moses, a man was required to keep the law perfectly to be saved.  None could do so, thus obviously none could be saved on that basis.  

This was true of the Law of Moses, but it is just as true of any law that a perfect God might give to mankind.  Paul says, "For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law." (Gal. 3:21b NKJV)  John says much the same to us for in speaking to Christians he says, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." (1 John 1:8 NKJV)  Sin is a transgression of the law of God, "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." (1 John 3:4 KJV)

God has a law today.  He has always had a law.  Today's law is the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2, 1 Cor. 9:21).  But, no matter how much we might desire to do so and despite our best efforts, we cannot keep the law of Christ perfectly any more than the children of Israel could keep the Law of Moses perfectly, thus if there is to be salvation it must be by grace, which it is.

Does this then mean that man can ignore Jesus' commands and disbelieve the things Jesus said whether he said them directly or indirectly (through the inspired writers of the New Testament)?  If grace comes through faith, what kind of faith is it that will not believe that which has been spoken or written by inspiration?  If the Lord speaks and I claim to be a man of faith, will I not believe his words?  Grace comes through faith (Eph. 2:8), but does it come through a faith that disbelieves those things plainly written?  The language the inspired writers used about baptism is too clear for misunderstanding as to its purpose.    

Let us take a closer look at Paul, who wrote a great deal about salvation by grace and faith.  (We act as though that is all he wrote on the subject of salvation.)  The very same man that wrote Eph. 2:8 ("for by grace you have been saved through faith") also wrote Gal. 3:26-27, "(26) For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (27) For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." (NKJV)  Many, perhaps even most in denominational churches, taking the smorgasbord approach, will take verse 26 and leave off verse 27.  That cannot be done by a man of genuine faith.  The man of faith believes all God has said on a subject.  The denominationalist says you put on Christ at the point of faith, mental assent.  Paul says not so.  Paul says by grace I have been saved through faith and then tells me I put on Christ in baptism, not before baptism.  Will I believe all Paul said or just what I want?

But, here is the clincher that destroys all arguments that attempt to separate baptism from grace.  Paul, who, remember, said "by grace you have been saved" (Eph. 2:8 NKJV), writes in 2 Tim. 2:1, "You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." (NKJV)  Where is saving grace found?  In Christ Jesus.  Okay, how does Paul say we get into Christ Jesus?  He says, "Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?" (Rom 6:3 NKJV)  And he makes the same statement in Gal. 3:27 when he says, "as many of you as were baptized into Christ." (NKJV)  Anyone who can put two and two together can add the same here.

Paul said the same thing earlier in the book of Romans when he said that we are "justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." (Rom 3:24 NKJV)  A person thus seeking to be saved by the grace of God ought to get into Christ Jesus where redemption is found; there and there only will he find grace and salvation.  The New Testament tells us too clearly to misunderstand how to get into Christ.

In Christ, there is salvation (2 Tim. 2:10), eternal life (Rom. 6:23), a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), every spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3), forgiveness (Eph. 4:32), the promise of life (2 Tim. 1:1), redemption (Rom. 3:24), being alive to God (Rom 6:11), and grace (2 Tim. 2:1).  When we are baptized, we are baptized into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13).  One who has not been baptized is outside the body of Christ and thus outside all of the blessings that are found only in Christ.  All good things are found in Christ, not out of him.  That includes grace as clearly shown for all who will accept 2 Timothy 2:1.

Bible faith by which God's grace comes is a faith that believes what God has said so strongly that he does not question it, but if God has said it, the matter with him is settled.  The true man of faith does not need to hear a passage on baptism but once, and whatever is said on that topic, he immediately believes and is ready to obey, if he has not already done so.

Yes, it may take some study to see how all of the things by which God has said we are saved work together in a harmonious whole, but if it is said by God or one of his inspired messengers that we are saved by baptism (1 Peter 3:21), or receive forgiveness of sins in baptism (Acts 2:38), or put on Christ in baptism (Gal. 3:27), then a genuine man of faith says immediately "it is so."  They do not argue about how it is not so.

Paul himself was saved by grace, as we all are, yet he was not saved before baptism by grace alone.  Hear his personal story.  On his way to Damascus to persecute Christians, as one who did not believe, the Lord confronted him and he was made a true believer and repented of his sins.  Luke tells us when confronted by the Lord that Saul (Paul) trembled and was astonished (Acts 9:6).  He was told by the Lord himself to "go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." (Acts 9:6 NKJV)

Denominational doctrine almost across the board, meaning no matter what group you are talking about, has him now saved.  He believes and has repented and "by grace are ye saved through faith" (Eph. 2:8 KJV) so they see him as saved.  The trouble of it is, is that Jesus told him he had to go into the city where it would be told him "what you must do." (Acts 9:6)  So, whatever he must do has not yet been told him at the point of faith and repentance.

Then we see that for the next 3 days this saved man (?) is living in misery rather than rejoicing in his salvation.  Luke says, he "neither ate nor drank" (Acts 9:9 NKJV) during that whole time; why not?  Is it not because he does not yet know what it is he "must do?" (Acts 9:6)  I might add the thing he must do, whatever it was to be, was related to having his sins forgiven.  How do I know?

Saul already knew what the future held for him for in Acts 26:16-18 he says Jesus told him when he appeared to him on the road to Damascus.  He knew he would be God's servant and sent to the Gentiles to preach even before entering the city of Damascus. (Acts 26:16-18)  That was not going to be the thing he was going to be told he must do when he entered the city of Damascus, for that he already knew.

What was it he was told he must do?  Ananias told him, "And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord." (Acts 22:16 NKJV)  He was told to be baptized to wash away his sins.  That was what he must do.  So here we have a man saved by grace and we know exactly how he was saved.  He had faith, he had repented of his sins, and he was baptized to wash away his sins.

Was he saved by grace?  Yes!  When he obeyed he was saved by God's grace for he was then in Christ where salvation is found.  His sins had been washed away by the grace of God for he had believed and obeyed God.

Do you want to be saved by grace?  You can try it the denominational way if you so desire but my advice to you would be that I would try it the Bible way by doing what Paul did.  You cannot go wrong doing that.

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Misreading Reality

After Judah and Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Babylonians and the people deported, and carried away captive back to Babylon, the remnant remaining defied God and left for Egypt. The Bible says, "for whatever things were written before were written for our learning" (Rom 15:4 NKJV) and there is certainly a lesson to be learned from the way that remnant misread reality, a lesson to be applied in our time. Because of their misperception, they experienced catastrophe.

After Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem and destroyed the city he carried away captive, back to Babylon, most of the people who remained alive, but left some of the poor people of Judah with a man named Gedaliah to govern over them. When Jews who had been scattered roundabout heard about Gedaliah, being left to govern, they returned to Judah (Jer. 40:11-12). However, a plot was hatched by the king of the Ammonites to have Gedaliah murdered (Jer. 40:14), which took place (Jer. 41:2-3), creating great fear among the Jews, fearing that Nebuchadnezzar would seek revenge on them for this killing even though they had nothing to do with it (Jer. 41:17-18).

Their desire was to flee to Egypt where they thought they would be safe. They sought out Jeremiah to inquire of the Lord what they should do. This he did, the Lord telling them if they would remain in Judah it would go well with them, he would save them, but if they were to go to Egypt "then it shall be that the sword which you feared shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt." (Jer. 42:16 NKJV)

Here is our first lesson written for our learning—sin deceives. They did not believe Jeremiah, "You speak falsely!" (Jer. 43:2 NKJV) We are now some 40 chapters into Jeremiah. Jeremiah has been prophesying to them for years about Nebuchadnezzar and his prophecies have all come to pass. Is he, Jeremiah, now to be judged a liar? They have every assurance he is speaking the truth but they cannot accept it. Why not?

Certainly, it is a lack of faith but why? It is hard to trust one you have been away from for so long. They had been steeped in idolatry which is why Judah was destroyed by the Babylonians, God calling Nebuchadnezzar his servant (Jer. 25:9). He was God's instrument to punish. They had come to trust in their idolatry, as we shall see as we continue on. They had lost trust in God. Jeremiah was God's spokesman.

The writer of the book of Hebrews warns of being "hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." (Heb. 3:13 NKJV) The prodigal son of Luke 15 thought things were going well, until they weren't. The Bible says "when he came to himself" (Luke 15:17 NKJV) he repented (verses 18-19). There is a sense when one gets caught up in sin that he does not think right, he is reading life wrong, judging matters incorrectly, thinking wrong, but he/she does not think so. Sin is deceitful.

Sometimes one's life has to be almost destroyed before you can get the person to change their thinking. The Jewish people finally got out of pagan idolatry once and for all but at what an awful price. In our own time, we see how the Japanese got out of Emperor worship and the Germans out of Nazism but it took destruction to bring it about.

"The heart is deceitful above all things." (Jer. 17:9 NKJV) "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." (Pro. 14:12 NKJV) Both of these passages assuredly apply to the Jews of that time but they also apply to you and me today. Our heart tells us this or that but how reliable is it? We are persuaded we are doing the right thing but are we? These Jews were sure going to Egypt was the right move.

Upon the arrival of the remnant of the Jews in Egypt and their settlement, Jeremiah continued to speak to them God's word. "Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves … in that you provoke Me to wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt." (Jer. 44:7-8 NKJV)

Hear their reply.

"Then all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense to other gods, with all the women who stood by, a great multitude, and all the people who dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying: "As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you! But we will certainly do whatever has gone out of our own mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and saw no trouble. But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine." (Jer. 44:15-18 NKJV)

Yes, they badly misread reality. They thought the good life they had enjoyed was because of their idolatry. The reality was it was because of God's great patience and longsuffering, granting them time and opportunity for repentance but they could not see that. They did not know "the goodness of God leads you to repentance." (Rom. 2:4 NKJV)

Herein lies the final lesson to be learned. It can be difficult at times to read reality. Things that seem to be one way may be just the opposite. Job had an awful time with this. What is going on? We do not know why things happen. We may misjudge and misunderstand. Things can be very deceiving. One thinks of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16. The rich man was receiving God's blessings, an abundant harvest. Did this reflect God's approval of his character? To ask is to answer. But, at the time it may well have seemed that way.

The poor man in that account, did his state reflect his spiritual status? Again, to ask is to answer. It would be easy to misjudge reality, looking at this case, if one was not privy to the whole story as given in the scriptures.

The lesson to be learned is that we cannot depend on our wisdom and judgment to direct us in life. Just because a thing seems right, whatever it is, does not make it right. God's word must direct us, believing and obeying is the only answer to life.

Solomon nailed it in closing out the book of Ecclesiastes when he said:

"The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." (Eccl. 12:13 ESV)

This was the failure of the Jews of Jeremiah's day, they did not do that. May it not be our failure in our day.

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If We Died With Him—Died How

2 Tim. 2:11 is another often overlooked passage on the teaching that baptism is essential for salvation.  It reads, "For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him." (NKJV) How does the Bible teach that a man dies with Christ? 

“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him." (Rom. 6:3-8 NKJV) 

What if, however, we do not die to sin in baptism (we refuse to be baptized)?  The text says, "He who has died has been freed from sin."  Thus if there is no death to sin in baptism there is no promise of life for there is no freedom from sin.   To refuse to be baptized for the remission of sins is a dangerous, even deadly, thing—a thing that holds no promise of life.

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Healing For The Brokenhearted

"Reproach has broken my heart and I am so sick. And I looked for sympathy, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none." (Psalms 69:20 NASU) Read in context one sees clearly that this passage of scripture refers to Jesus toward the very end of his life on earth when facing the cross and perhaps, very possibly, on the cross itself. The heart has been broken to the point of sickness.

Is there a person whose heart has never been crushed with sorrow, one whose heart has never been broken? Most of us who are older have experienced it and sooner or later almost everyone will if they have not already. There are the tears that flow freely and that once in motion cannot be stopped until the well has run dry but the well soon fills back up and there they go again as though they cannot be stopped. Only the utmost strength of the will can hold them back, a will that seems to be in a life-and-death struggle with the heart.

Food no longer matters. The heart is too ill to even think of food. Hunger has vanished, so one can go days with barely a bite, and it matters not in the least, for the heart is sick. The stomach feels as though it has taken a body blow. All the breath has been sucked out of one's being. Nothing matters any longer, nothing at all, all feeling is gone, and whether it be life or death matters little to none.

There is no longer any fear, for fear has been struck down. The worst fear has achieved victory so any other thing that could come along would be but nothing. There is no longer anything to fear. The only emotion left is heart-wrenching sorrow. The heart is numb and immune to further pain or insult. Do what you will to me, it matters not.

The greatest hurt in the world is a broken heart. Nothing hurts worse than to have one's heart crushed. It often comes from those we love most making the hurt almost unbearable. We love them greatly and thought they loved us as well and then they desert us as though we were little to nothing to them.

But there are other avenues for broken hearts as well. A parent loses a child to death or a spouse is lost. A healthy vigorous young man goes off to war and comes home with injuries so severe as to make a normal life impossible and hopes and dreams for the future are squashed. His heart is broken but also that of his loved ones.

The elderly go into nursing homes, they know it is to be permanent, and it seems family do not care or love them anymore. The heart is broken. Deep sorrow and sadness seem to be all that is left and old people are not supposed to cry. But the heart is broken.

Can a broken heart be mended? At the time it seems life will simply stop and that the heart will never recover. Nevertheless, hearts can be healed even though a scar may always cover the wound that was received. Scars are eventually forgotten in the sense that the day comes when they no longer interfere with everyday life and life goes on.

The Bible teaches that Jesus too suffered from a broken heart just as we have. Jesus has often been called the man of sorrows based on Isa. 53. Listen to a little of the prophet Isaiah as he talks about Jesus as he foresees the future. "He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him." (Isa. 53:3 NASU) Why do you think Jesus was a man of sorrows? Was it physical affliction? Was it poverty? It was a heart man broke.

The Psalmist says, speaking of Jesus prophetically, "But I am a worm and not a man, a reproach of men and despised by the people. All who see me sneer at me." (Psalms 22:6 NASU) John says, "He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him." (John 1:11 NASU) Was the heart of Jesus broken? When for the last time he saw Jerusalem from a distance as he was about to enter therein it is said, "He saw the city and wept over it." (Luke 19:41 NASU) Broken hearts weep, not hearts filled with joy.

Yes, Jesus knows what it is to shed tears of sorrow and to have his heart broken. In fact, he knows all about us for he "likewise also partook of the same" (Heb. 2:14), that is flesh and blood. He was "tempted in all things as we are." (Heb. 4:15) "He had to be made like His brethren in all things." (Heb. 2:17 NASU) Yes, it may be that the cause of our broken heart may differ from the cause of Jesus' broken heart, but is not a broken heart a broken heart? Is pain, not pain? Is sorrow not sorrow? Must one's heart be crushed by a particular thing to call it a broken heart?

Can God help us mend? God understands that in this life there are things that are too big for us to deal with alone. We are put in a position where we cannot act proactively for we have lost that power. Events have overwhelmed us. We need outside help.

What can God do? We might respond, what is there that God cannot do? Do you believe God can and does intervene in the affairs of men? If he does not, why then do you pray?

Let me quote a passage to you from Psalms 34:18-19 (NASU), "The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all." In this passage, God is talking to his children. Are you a child of God? If so, there is help. There are three things from this passage that must be considered.

(1) Am I a righteous person? If I want God to hear my prayer and help me then if I am not a righteous person I need to take the steps necessary to become one. Obeying the gospel from the heart is the remedy for that if one has never done so. For those who have obeyed the gospel but have not been faithful then to be a righteous person, one needs to repent, pray for forgiveness, and seek to live righteously henceforth. For those who are faithful, they need to believe the Lord is near them and will deliver them out of their affliction. They need to pray sincerely that if the affliction cannot be removed it will at least be made bearable. James says, "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." (James 5:16 NKJV)

(2) In the second place God is not far from a person whose heart has been broken. That is what the text says. We need to believe that. How can we say we believe the Bible and yet not believe this? His desire is to lift us up again and renew life within our spirit, to get us to where we want to go on living again. We need to seek him in his own appointed way to enable him to do this for us. So, the point is this--we have something to do with our healing. We can reach out to God, we can seek him.

(3) The Psalmist says, in the third place, while the righteous have many afflictions God will deliver them out of them all. What does this mean? It means things will get better. The heart can and will be mended in God's own time. When things are at their worst, there is about to be a change, gradual though it may be, for God is a deliverer--a change for the better is on its way.

The Psalmist says in Psalms 147:3, "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." (NASU) Jesus says of himself, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because he has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor, He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To preach deliverance to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord." (Luke 4:18-19 NKJV) God is able. We need to trust him as to how best to do it and in his own time frame.

Broken hearts bring us extreme suffering but also restless turmoil and the absence of peace. Sleepless nights come and go. The mind is continually agitated and at war and we feel as though we cannot stand another day of it. As God can heal the brokenhearted he can also restore to us peace and comfort. Paul says that God the Father is, "the Father of mercies and God of all comfort." (2 Cor. 1:3 NASU) Comfort is to be understood not as an easy chair or soft bed but comfort of heart and soul. God is the source.

Solomon wrote many years ago by inspiration when he said in Prov. 3:1-2, "My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you." (NASU) It is needful for a man or woman to walk with God to get his help. One of the greatest blessings a man of God has is peace to overcome the turmoil of life. The righteous soul may have many troubles and sorrows but peace is with God. He helps his children and can bring comfort to troubled souls.

We often pray but fail to take into account, if God is to help us, some things that are necessary on our part. John says, "Whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight." (1 John 3:22 NASU) Have we led that kind of life--keeping his commandments and doing those things pleasing in his sight? If not, will we repent and begin to live that way? Will we obey God? If so John says "we receive from Him" whatever we ask.

What is it we ought to ask for if our heart is broken? Should we ask that past history be altered? Is that what John is speaking about, altering history so the broken heart will vanish that way? We know better. We can ask God to help us heal and go on with life, and if we are faithful and obedient, and love him as we should, we have his promise of help as per John's statement.

God is the God of peace. (Rom. 15:33) Paul, in speaking to God's children, says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7 NASU)

The turmoil of the broken heart can be healed. Live faithfully and trust God. He will answer your prayer. "Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all." (2 Thess. 3:16 NKJV) When the scripture says give you peace in every way, that includes overcoming heartbreak.

Christians are told to "draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Heb. 4:16 NASU) One needs grace to heal a broken heart. It is a time of need. The Holy Spirit speaking through James says, "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray." (James 5:13 NAS) Let us pray at the throne of grace for God's power to heal our broken hearts.

In God, we find healing, comfort, and peace, and those things are worth more than the weight of the world in gold. They are ours for the asking if we will but believe and obey God and ask him for grace in our time of need.

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