Gracious

Psalms 67:1-2 NIV May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us—so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us.” David was quoting from Numbers 6 and the blessing that God gave Moses to be spoken over Israel. These words were well known by all of Israel, like the 23rd Psalm or the Lord’s Prayer is today—it was a familiar blessing.

The key word is God. God is the only subject: God be gracious to us, God bless us, God make His face to shine upon us. God is the only true source of blessings. James 1:17 tells us, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.” Anything good you can think of in your life, you can thank God for it, for it was He who was the ultimate source of that gift to you.

“God be gracious to us.” Grace is God’s undeserved favor and love, the currency of the kingdom of God. Grace is a gift. You do not earn grace; you simply receive it. God’s grace is the foundation of all scripture and the gospel message. Grace is what saves and redeems us. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves; it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is never accomplished by works: “And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.” (Romans 11:6). Grace is what forgives our sins, the transgressions, and violations of God’s ways, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23-24). Grace is offered to all: “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.” (Titus 2:11).

When God is gracious, he is choosing to pour out blessings of life and relationship with Him. The very throne on which God sits is grace: “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16). Grace is the result when we humbly give credit and glory for the blessings to God, “But he continues to pour out more and more grace upon us. For it says, “God resists you when you are proud but continually pours out grace when you are humble.” (James 4:6). Grace is the source of comfort and hope: “Now may the Lord Jesus Christ and our Father God, who loved us and in his wonderful grace gave us eternal comfort and a beautiful hope that cannot fail.” (2 Thessalonians 2:16).

What we must realize is that it is the same way with everything we receive from the Lord. Every blessing God gives us, every breath we breathe, is from His grace. God owes us nothing but chooses to lavish us with “good things” (Psalm 107:9). “And from the overflow of his fullness we received grace heaped upon more grace!” (John 1:16). It is God’s nature to bless. However, we must understand that His ultimate goal encompasses far more than just our happiness, protection, and prosperity. The ultimate goal of grace isn’t to just spare you from pain. God’s desire is to reunite you with him. He wants the relationship that sin destroyed. 

It is never the Lord’s intention for His gracious blessings to end with us. Rather, He wants them to flow out to others as part of His plan for the whole earth. Psalm 67:7 states, “God blesses us, and all the ends of the earth shall know and stand in awe of Him.” Each blessing He gives not only benefits the one receiving it but is also intended to help others know our loving God. When the Lord blesses you, He’s not only doing something for you; He’s also doing something in and through you to affect the lives of those around you. Be a vessel for God’s grace, so His ways may be known on all the earth.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To subscribe: www.livingoaksministry.com                                   Copyright 2025 Living Oaks Ministry

Gary and Sandy Anthony

Psalm 103:8 NIV The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.

Numbers 6:22-26 NAS Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.

Ephesians 6:23-24 NLT Peace be with you, dear brothers and sisters, and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness. May God’s grace be eternally upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Kings 13:23 NIV But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion and showed concern for them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To this day he has been unwilling to destroy them or banish them from his presence.

Joel 2:13 NIV Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.

Psalm 116:5 NIV The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.

Psalm 111:2-4 NLT How amazing are the deeds of the Lord! All who delight in him should ponder them. Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty. His righteousness never fails. He causes us to remember his wonderful works. How gracious and merciful is our Lord!

Psalm 119:58 NIV I have sought your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise.

Isaiah 33:2 NIV Lord , be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in times of distress.

Genesis 21:1-2 NIV Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him.

Exodus 34:6-7 NIV And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin.

Ephesians 1:7 NIV In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.

1 Peter 4:10 TPT Every believer has received grace gifts, so use them to serve one another as faithful stewards of the many-colored tapestry of God’s grace.

Romans 5:15 NIV But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!

Acts 20:24 NIV However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

Hebrews 13:25 NIV Grace be with you all.