Grace is more important than ability
Exodus (102) Grace is more important than power
(Ex 34:18-28)
<Remember the grace>
When God made the second covenant with Moses at Mount Sinai, the most important thing was to avoid idolatry, and the next thing he emphasized was to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (verses 18-21). It is a seven-day feast starting from the Passover, and it is called the Feast of Unleavened Bread because unleavened bread is eaten at that time. To keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread means to live a life that remembers grace.
The poorest person in the world is not the materially poor, but the mentally poor. A blind man with blind eyes is more pitiful than a blind man who cannot see the true truth and especially forgets all the grace he has received.
Why do people not realize the truth? Because of pride, prejudice, and selfishness. Humans develop as much as they accept knowledge, so if they don't accept new things, they become foolish beings who don't realize what they already have. So, when it falls, it usually falls from the ear first. That is, if you do not listen, you will perish. Also, even if you do not realize the grace you have already received, you become a fool. Therefore, you need to know the value of what you currently have.
There was a young man who ran a large farm. Farming wasn't good, so when I advertised to sell the farm, a huge crowd came. Then he was startled and advertised that he would never sell it again. I thought that what I had was not a good thing, but when many people pursued it, I realized the value of what I had.
In life, that is often the case. The rest of me envy me, but I look down on me. Everyone else says that my situation is good, but I am not proud of my situation. If you do not realize happiness like that, there is no happiness. Happiness is proportional to enlightenment. People can be happy enough, but in many cases they are unhappy because they do not realize that happiness, and above all, they are unhappy because they do not realize the many graces that have already been given to them.
If you go to the hospital and comfort the patient, you often receive grace. This is because the patient often shows that he has realized grace through his illness. It is the realization of the grace learned after paying an expensive price such as sickness, so we should not forget it easily, but usually it goes back to its original state within three days after being discharged from the hospital. Such spiritual forgetfulness is the problem. As we remember grace, we receive more grace and our happiness index increases.
<Grace is more important than ability>
After commanding the life of keeping the Feast of Unleavened Bread, God commanded us to keep the Sabbath and work for six days, and on the seventh day rest when plowing or harvesting (verse 21). It is a message to keep the Sabbath at important times like the sowing and harvesting seasons. Also, in order to keep the various festivals, all men were asked to appear before God three times a year during the three major festivals of Israel, the Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles (verse 23). He said that God would solve the problem of regional defense that occurred at that time (verse 24).
So, receiving the second covenant, Moses stayed with the Lord for forty days and forty nights on Mount Sinai, and he abstained from bread and water. In the end, Moses fasted for 80 days, a total of 40 days when he made the first covenant (Exodus 24:18) and 40 days when he made the second covenant. This scene shows how important it is to recognize the covenant relationship with God, keep that covenant, and live in God's grace.
No matter how powerful a person may be, without God's grace, that ability is useless. Ultimately, the most important thing for believers is God's grace. It is important to pursue abilities and work hard, but more importantly, seek God's grace and strive to abide in God's grace. Grace is more important than ability.
Vision is usually more likely to be achieved if you prepare diligently, and God will surely use it someday. However, even if God does not use it, diligently preparing for the future is a natural duty of the saints. In fact, having a lot of preparation is a happier life than having a lot of talent. The preparations today are the cradle of a brilliant vision that will be realized tomorrow. But even if you prepare so hard, make sure to rest when you are resting. For the saints, rest means to realign themselves with a God-centered life. That's why it's important to keep the Sabbath, and it's important to take a break when you take a break.
Don't think of spending money on leisure as a waste. If you run without leisure and ruin your health, it will cost you ten times as much. The believer is to have a leisure life for the restoration of God-centered life. If God-centered life is restored through rest, the purpose of a holy life becomes clear, and recharges to gain momentum to run toward the goal are achieved, it means that you have a good life of leisure and rest. In the same way, adjust your life in God's grace so that worship can be restored in your heart and become blessed hearts filled with the Holy Spirit.