Grace Thief

25 I know that my redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
26 And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God;
27 I myself will see him
with my own eyes—I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me (Job 19 — NIV).

Job, despite brokenness of body and fragility of spirit — in the face of condemnation — knew grace by claiming truth.

Recently I spent a sleepless night by my daughter’s bedside. The virus that roused her almost every thirty minutes all through the night found me vigilant. And in those dark hours, I faced an enemy. A robber…

Yes — A grace thief.

If grace is ‘unmerited favor’ then its thief aims to incriminate — stealing one’s sense of peace (a fruit of grace) and replacing it with anxiety, self-doubt, and fear. And the voice of the enemy is rarely more resonant than in the dark of night.

As I lay beside my physically ill child, desiring to tenderly care for her and yet catch a few winks of sleep between sick spells, I experienced emotional and mental torment. It seemed the fiery darts of the enemy were coming at me from every direction, and his mocking tone accused…

You’re falling short with your kids as a mom and their teacher. You’re a failure!

You haven’t written those ‘Thank You’ notes. You’re thoughtless!

When are you EVER going to tackle those piles of papers. You’re unorganized!

It’s almost February, and all your Christmas decorations are still up. And your house — it’s a mess! You’re lazy!

The assault persisted, and with each allegation grace seemed to dwindle. As time ticked by, the truth of ‘unmerited favor’ was forgotten and was replaced with the feeling of ‘merited failure’ — until… faintly —

Jesus.

And then, with growing confidence —

Jesus… Jesus… Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. JesusJesusJesusJesus.

With each mention of Jesus’ name, the enemy recoiled. His voice was drowned out, and his accusations couldn’t reach me. Finally, lies were replaced with truths…

You’re loved… precious… forgiven.

Like a warm blanket, Grace covered me. And finally, I rested.

Just like Job’s persistent friends, the Grace Thief was unrelenting in his assault — robbing me of peace and rest.

Only by claiming the name of Jesus — Yes, our Redeemer who LIVES! — did the truth that “… goodness and mercy will follow me all the days [and nights] of my life…” (Ps. 23:6), shine into the darkness…

And bring the light of a new day.

Do you recognize the Grace Thief’s attempts to rob you of what is already yours by God’s faithful promises through His Son? How do you combat this? And is the enemy keeping you from being an ‘agent of God’s grace’ in others’ lives, as well?

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).