A Work of God
Stan Telchin became a believer, and he rushed for the phone to tell his family what had happened to him. But then he remembered how hurt his family had been when the daughter Judy has announced her faith in Jesus. Stan tried and tried to come up with a speech that he could give to his wife, but eventually he just phoned her and when she answered he blurted out “It’s me! It’s over! I’ve made my decision! Jesus is the Messiah!”
He held his breath to hear his wife’s response, and a voice came back saying softly: “Thank God! That makes it unanimous. We’ve been waiting for you!”
Grace and Belief
As it turned out, Stan’s wife and other daughter had come to the same conclusion while he was away at this conference he was on. His wife had also been wrestling with it since their daughter announced her new faith, and she had spent much time speaking to a Christian friend and reading the Bible herself, trying to find a weapon that could be used against Judy’s new faith. But the more she read and heard, the more she saw the truth.
Then one night she went to bed thinking Jesus was just a good man, and the next day she woke up believing that He was the Messiah. She just knew it deep down. And if you remember, Stan’s story was similar – he was close to believing, and then he woke up one morning and he believed. The two of them concluded that God had done this work in their hearts, and given them the gift of saving faith.
Now, this is a bit of a contentious issue across different churches. In my tradition, coming from the Wesleyan branch of the Protestant church, we believe in free will, and the God-given ability to either accept or reject his offer of grace. Other churches in other traditions believe in irresistible grace – that when God reveals himself to you, you have no power to resist. You’re just saved by His grace, and you believe because He enabled you too.
Churches can really fight over this – but I have come to believe that it seems to work one way sometimes, and another at other times. So there are people who resist and resist and resist God’s offer. But then they get to a point where they see it, and they make a decision: I believe! I surrender to Him! And their lives are changed.
There are others, like Stan and Ethel, who don’t remember a decision as such. But they know that they now believe. They don’t know exactly when it happened, but they know that they were once lost, and are now found, and they praise God.
Embrace His Grace
What’s your story, I wonder? Did you make a conscious decision to surrender to Jesus on a specific day? Or did you find yourself believing and you’re not even sure when God gave you that gift? Share your story in the comments on my website here won’t you, or send me a WhatsApp if you get the devos there, I’d love to know.
But maybe, if you’re honest, you’re not really a believer. You don’t know for sure that you are into this whole thing of Jesus being the Messiah. Friends, I pray that God will draw you to himself, and that like Stan and Ethel, you’ll see it! And you’ll believe! Maybe you need to make a decision, or maybe it will sort of overtake you, but the point is this: don’t put it off. Keep seeking Him! Keep reading His Word! Pray for His saving grace, pray that God will rescue you from unbelief, pray that you will see what others see and be changed as others are changed.
The Telchins stopped resisting, and God’s grace overtook them. Perhaps today can be your day to stop resisting the truth, and to rest in His grace and power by faith.
