Ask and it will be given to you. –Matthew 7:7 (NIV)

I was going through a kitchen cupboard a couple of weeks ago looking for a set of keys when I discovered $130, cash, I didn’t know we had. I was so excited! Not that I was ready to go out and spend it right away, but it sure was nice to realize we weren’t as broke as we thought we were.

Hubby and I have never been big spenders. When the kids were little and his was the only paycheck coming in, we had to be tightwads. Now that the kids are on their own and I’m able to contribute to the breadwinning, we still hesitate to spend money.

Not that it’s bad—in today’s world, it’s what helps us survive when the living expenses increase and the income stays the same. We just don’t want to dip into what reserves we have set aside in case something comes up that we’ll need it and won’t have it.

I wonder if I apply the same “don’t spend” philosophy to the riches I have in Christ. How often do I access God’s storehouse?

I’m not talking about material goods, although God does promise to provide for all our needs (see Matthew 6:25–34 and Philippians 4:19). I’m referring to spiritual riches—and they aren’t just for when we get to heaven. They’re available to us now, while we make our way through life. In fact, we need them now.

While God’s storehouse overflows with riches “exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or imagine,” today we’ll look at just one: grace.

Grace is receiving something I don’t deserve—forgiveness for my sin before I even asked and eternal life in heaven.

As fabulous and mindboggling as that definition is, there’s more to grace. Grace includes God’s daily care of each of us, His strength, His guidance. Grace is why we can carry the cross we’re called to carry, bear the pain we’re called to bear, tolerate people we don’t particularly like, and—going even further—show them kindness.

Grace is what enables us to love our enemies, bless those who curse us, do good to those who hate us, and pray for those who spitefully use us and persecute us (Matthew 5:44). We couldn’t even begin to do that on our own.

Remember Paul’s thorn in the flesh? We all have at least one, don’t we? Paul prayed more than once for God to remove it. God’s answer to Paul is the same as His answer to us: “My grace is sufficient” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

His grace is all we need—for anything and everything. His grace is why we can go to God in prayer, and go boldly (see Hebrews 4:16).

God’s grace, like the rest of the treasures in His storehouse, is unlimited, infinite, and available to us 24/7. All we have to do is ask.

Have you made a withdrawal from God’s storehouse lately?

Remind me, Father, that I have all I need in You. All I have to do is ask. Amen.

Read and meditate on Matthew 7:7–11

(c) 2017 Michele Huey. All rights reserved.