January 16

may the LORD cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; — Num 6:25 BSB

What makes the gospel so sweet? That one word: grace. Take grace out of the gospel, and you destroy it; it becomes no gospel at all. Grace permeates every part of the gospel; it is the life of the gospel. In fact, it is the gospel. “Be gracious unto you.” But how is God gracious? In a broken law? The law knows nothing of grace. In resolutions to do better, human efforts, or personal righteousness? Can the Lord show grace in these things? That would be as foolish as trying to extract sunbeams from cucumbers. Grace cannot come from the law—it is as cold as cucumbers; there is no warmth, no light in it.

Grace must come from the gospel. The gospel is the source of grace, excluding all human righteousness and extinguishing all claims of merit. As the Apostle argues, “If by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace” (Romans 11:6). “The Lord be gracious unto you.”

But how is the Lord gracious? Imagine you had to approach someone of much higher worldly rank, and you were timid and nervous. If they gave you a gracious reception, wouldn’t that put you at ease? In the same way, when we come into God’s presence, a sense of our unworthiness may make us tremble before Him. But when He graciously receives us, it emboldens us to bring our petitions to Him. Only grace can do that.

You might say, “But I feel so unworthy.” Will you ever be anything else? When do you expect to be worthy? If you hope to be worthy tomorrow, where is your worthiness today? If you base your approach to God on your worthiness, you must first settle all your past debts. But there is no worthiness in man—since the fall of Adam, no human has been worthy before God.

Instead, you must approach God on the ground of your unworthiness. Scripture tells of one who did: “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof; but only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.” Jesus said of this man, “I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel.” The prodigal son also confessed, “I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” And this confession brought out the best robe, the ring, and the shoes for his feet.

Faith and a sense of unworthiness go hand in hand. If you feel spiritually unworthy, you are spiritually believing, for it is faith that shows you your unworthiness. That same faith also leads you to believe in God’s grace. “Be gracious unto you.” Grace melts the heart. The law and its terrors only harden, but grace softens, melts, and draws the heart into godly obedience.