GENESIS 20:1-6 – From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes,  I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her.

Have we ever pondered the many manifestations of God’s grace? Think with me of the far-reaching riches of His amazing grace to us. As Christians, we experienced saving grace. God takes us from the kingdom of darkness and the bondage of sin by His grace – For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). Then we encounter His training grace. He begins the process of educating us by grace to live the Christian life-For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age (Titus 2:11-12). And while living the Christian life, God gives us enduring grace in times of trial – Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me (2 Corinthians 12:8-9). But grace continues to overflow from the Lord to His children. He also gives us strengthening grace in times of weakness and suffering-And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you (1 Peter 5:10). And one more manifestation of God’s far-reaching grace is found in today’s scripture. It is one we may not think enough about in our battles against temptation and sin – preventing grace.

Here is the scene. Abraham convinces his wife to “stretch the truth” about her identity to King Abimelech. Why? He was afraid for his life, so Sarah assumes a “half-truth” of being Abraham’s sister, not his wife. Pay attention to the power of fear to lead us to sin. Abraham, the father of faith, was willing to have his wife commit adultery to save his life. Fear of “what ifs” for standing for truth may lead us to compromise truth. But notice what happens and the revelation of preventing grace. God confronts Abimelech with the sternest of warnings-“Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” The king pleads his case saying, “I maintained my integrity. I didn’t touch the man’s wife.” True, but then God reveals the real truth. He said, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. ”Wow. It was God who prevented the king from sinning against Him. And we don’t know, but we may be confident, that many times in our lives when tempted to sin, we, like oxen led to the slaughter, we proceed to fulfill the temptation, yet, we don’t. Preventing grace has intervened. What an amazing God who gives such amazing grace. Learn to thank Him for all its manifestations–saving, training, enduring, strengthening and preventing grace! It will deepen our joy in the Lord.

PRAYER: “Father, I praise You for the depth of Your grace and how it touches all my life.

QUOTE: “Learn to praise God for His grace that extends beyond salvation.”