Grace That Walks Into Prepared Works
Grace sets the path and carries the pace.
Devotional Credit:
In Christ, by E. Stanley Jones
Photo Credit:
Unsplash
We are not rescued by our performance. We are rescued by grace through faith, and that same grace sets the tone for everything that follows. The reading reminds us that we are God’s workmanship, newly crafted in Jesus for good works that fit who we now are. The works do not create salvation. They flow from it.
In today’s devotional, E. Stanley Jones explains that these good works are not pasted onto a stubborn self. They rise from a changed core. The fountain is cleansed, and clear water runs. When Jesus renews the person, deeds that match that renewal appear as the natural outcome.
This means our destiny is not a cold blueprint of tasks. It is a living outflow of a new nature. Love, faith, self-giving, and the joy of forgiveness are not merely acts to copy. They are signs that Another lives within. Grace does not make us passive. Grace makes us productive in a way that fits our union with Jesus.
Walk in what God prepared beforehand. That is the language of Scripture. Not hustle to invent a life that earns favor, but step into a path already laid out by a Father who delights to express His Son through His people.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I made you alive together with My Son. You are My workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works that I prepared beforehand so that you would walk in them. Not by works were you saved, it was by grace through faith, and this grace now energizes every step.
Abide in My Son. Apart from Him you can do nothing, yet in Him your life bears fruit that remains. Present your members to Me as instruments of righteousness. I work in you to will and to work for My good pleasure. In all things, do what you do in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to Me through Him.
I equip you with everything good to do My will. I make you zealous for good works, ready for every good work, and thoroughly furnished for every assignment. I am able to make all grace abound to you, so that you always have all sufficiency in everything, and abundance for every good work. Walk worthy of Me, bearing fruit in every good deed, and increasing in the knowledge of Me.
Scripture References: Ephesians 2:8–10, John 15:5, Romans 6:13, Philippians 2:13, Colossians 3:17, Hebrews 13:20–21, Titus 2:14, Titus 3:8, 2 Corinthians 9:8, 2 Timothy 3:17, Colossians 1:10, 1 Peter 2:9, Matthew 5:16, Galatians 2:20
Real-Life Analogy
Think of stepping onto a moving walkway at an airport. The path is already laid, and the motion is already there. You still walk, but the walkway carries you forward in the direction set for you.
Make it practical today. Before a meeting or a conversation, pause and say, Lord, I trust You to express Your purpose through me right now as I step onto what You planned for this moment. Then take one concrete action that aligns with love, truth, and service, confident that the path is prepared.
Prayer of Confidence
Lord, thank You that I am Your workmanship in Jesus. You have already prepared the works that fit who I am in Him. I praise You that Your grace supplies desire and action, and that Your Spirit equips me for every good deed. I rest in Your sufficiency, and I rejoice to walk in what You have arranged for today.