Shouts of GraceSample

Grace Multiplied Through Knowing God

My dad taught me to pursue the presence of God intentionally from my early teens, but I had no idea that God would multiply my application of that grace with the reward of an unusual visitation.

The first of several unforgettable encounters with God occurred when I was 20. But it took more than 50 years for me to recognize how it happened by the dynamic interaction revealed in this verse. God brought me to a situation where I had to use all the money, time, and energy I had to do a task that I didn’t want to do. But I took hold of grace and the task. Then He multiplied that grace into a startling experience that was completely His doing, and its memory has motivated me for decades to pursue intimacy with Him.

It was December of 1966. That fall I had paid $400 for a 1959 VW bug that had been built from insurance wreckage. It looked good because it had a new paint job, but the engine was in bad need of repair, and I didn’t have enough money. I was a young nerd who didn’t want to be a grease monkey, and my dad was a pastor who had learned basic mechanic skills but didn’t like to use them. He told me that I would have to make up for what I didn’t have in cash with time and energy. So, we decided that I would drive the 360 miles home, and we would trust God for grace to do the repairs during Christmas vacation. I bought the kit to replace the 4 cylinders on the ‘59 VW, only to find that they had to be returned because the engine was made in 1955 -- another disappointment -- and we lost a day in that process.

We replaced the 4 cylinders, but with long, trying hours of very dirty and uncomfortable labor. Returning to school in January, I didn’t get back to my room in the dorm until after midnight. Physically exhausted, emotionally at the end of myself, and upset that I had missed the precious first day of classes, I just collapsed onto my bed and fell into a troubled sleep.

A couple hours later I was surprisingly awakened by a ball of fire. Somehow I knew that it was yellow, about four feet away, between me and the door, and at about the height of a man’s head. This was not a vision or dream, but a real Presence. I could feel its heat. I was too terrified to open my eyes because I was sure that I would die if I looked at Him. But then I felt the smile of God -- an amazing sense of peace and joy that God had manifested Himself to me. I slept soundly and awoke refreshed. This was grace gloriously multiplied after grace diligently applied.

Knowledge of God is not just about knowing about His character and attributes as an avid student of His Word, as important as that is. At a deeper and much more satisfying level, it is the experience of intimacy with God. The Bible talks about the intimacy Adam shared with his wife: “Adam knew Eve, his wife, and she conceived…” (Genesis 4:1 KJV). It also talks about intimacy with God. David wrote about Yahveh: "When You said, 'Seek My face,' my heart said to You, 'Your face, LORD, I will seek'" (Psalm 27:8 NKJV). The Apostle Paul wrote from his prison in Rome after an incredibly fruitful missionary career, “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8 NIV).

- Pastor Steve Kobernik

Costly Prayer

Put your hand on your heart and say to God, “I want to know You, and the power of Your resurrection, and the fellowship of Your suffering, with a heart willing to die for intimacy with You.” (See Philippians 3:10)

Journal Directions

1. If you desire a supernatural manifestation of God’s presence, write out a prayer asking Him for it, or copy the prayer above, and pray that prayer out loud daily for a week or a month.
2. Also ask Him what it may cost you and write down what price you may need to be willing to pay.
3. One time after a grace of worship in His presence in my quiet time, Holy Spirit multiplied grace for me to write a worshipful song starting with, “I want to be with You, Jesus…” Write down a time or two that you have recognized the grace of God on you, and ask for and attach faith for a multiplied grace that God would like to give you in response.
4. Live this week watching for “normal” powerful graces in your life, but with faith for how God may want to multiply grace for you after that.