Romans 5:1-5 If you work in a bank, you can be surrounded by money, but it' s not there for your personal use In Christ we are surrounded by His grace, but unlike the bank we have free access to His grace through faith. One can't use what he doesn't have, but he can also not use what he does have. There are several reasons for not using what you have. You may not know what you have. You may feel guilty, or unworthy. You may feel macho and want to do it in your own way. Often, we think we know what we need and give God a big shopping list, and a time table and wonder why He doesn't fill it. Grace isn't stuff - it's the Almighty, All Knowing, Eternal, Loving God looking upon us with His favor, for our good; not because of who we are but Who He Is and has done. A mother will take an ornery, impatient, "gi-me, gi- me" child and hold him close and lay him down for a nap, because what he really needs is sleep not all the things he's demanding. When the child wakes up, things are back to normal and he probably never puts the ideas together, "ornery = needs sleep", until he gets to be a parent. It's like having an itch and not knowing where to scratch. God knows! God looks beyond our confusion and frustration and hears the real cry of our heart, the real source of the itch, and scratches it. When God responds to our prayers, it feels like He didn't hear us, but He did, and He is answering us according to His grace and His love. Faith is trusting Him that this is so. And accepting the answer as His best for us.

God Knows