"But by the grace of God I am what I am:"

He has saved me from my sin.  He has cleansed me and made me whole again.  I am what I am because of the grace of God.

Paul writes in I Corinthians 15:9 "For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God." 15:10 "But by the grace of God I am what I am:  and his grace which was bestowed upon me was no in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."

I've been meditating on this chapter for about a week now.  No matter what my state is or was, God has saved me and picked me up and set my feet upon solid ground.  No matter how low we get or how much we fail, He loves us and is faithful to the end.

I sometimes contemplate my failures, things I should be doing that I'm not, things I should be doing differently in my life and realize I can get so discouraged looking at my own life and the things that may or may not be happening and the lives around me - tearing them apart that I forget to fix my eyes upon the One who has brought me up out of the miry clay.  Like Paul, we may feel like we are the least of the least and that we are not fit for God's kingdom.  BUT, by the grace of God we are what we are.  All because of Him.

Later in the chapter vs. 51-52 it says, "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."

We shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye.  We shall be like Him.  I am forgiven and someday will forever reign with Him.  No more sorrow, no more pain.  What we know now will be passed away.

Life can be discouraging sometimes but we have so much to be thankful for.  We have so much to look forward to!

vs. 58 encourages us. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."

Do the work which He has called you to do.  He has a purpose for your life.  He is able to pick you up and plant your feet on solid ground.  He is able to do a marvellous work in you - if you let Him.

Friends,  let us be faithful, stedfast, unmoveable, and let God use us for His glory.  We are what we are because of His grace He bestows upon us.