“And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.” (Luke 2:40). I love this verse because it explains how the grace of God was upon Jesus. He grew, became strong, and was full of grace. Now the Bible also tells us that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more (Romans 5:20). Since we know that Jesus never sinned, how did He abound in grace? There must be another way to receive more grace.
If you want to have a fun Bible study, go throughout your Bible and notice the first mention of a word. The first time the Bible mentions the word, “grace” it is about Noah. This verse says, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” (Genesis 6:8 NKJV). According to Strong’s Concordance Noah’s name means, “rest.” In essence, the Hebrew translation of this verse explains that rest found grace! Wow.
This gives us insight into the life of Christ. Jesus was restful and, “the grace of God was upon Him.” The more we rest and trust God, the more grace abounds in our life. Remember that Christ only duplicates what He see the Father doing, Jesus once said, “The Son can do nothing of Himself. He can do only what He sees His Father doing” (John 5:19). This means that this is the attitude of God. Christ personified what it meant to live a life at rest.
This world places much stress on our lives. It burdens us down with work and daily routines. The one thing we need for our minds is peace. God’s rest gives us the ability to keep going.
Hebrews 4:11 tells us, “Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest…” God only wants us to make one effort, rest. How do we get more of the favor of God in our lives? Not by striving, only by diving into rest. How do we get more grace? Trust in what Christ has done for you on the Cross. When we rest, God strengthens us.