But He giveth more grace. Wherefore He saith God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. James 4:6
In the 1860s, in Vineland, New Jersey, a little girl named Annie Johnson and her younger sister were left orphans when their mother died. The little girls were left in the care of relatives who neither loved nor wanted them. A kindly neighbour adopted the girls and they grew up in a loving family where they were given good care and Christian training. Annie was saved during revival meetings when she was eight years old. When she finished high school, she took normal school training and began teaching. But she was stricken with arthritis that eventually left her an invalid for the rest of her life. She often struggled to meet the expenses of life, making her living by writing and publishing her poems and by selling greeting cards that she made. No one could say that Annie Johnson Flint had an easy life. And yet, from the pen that she painfully managed to hold between her twisted and almost helpless fingers came some of the most touching and beautiful hymns in our language. Surely she had today’s text in mind as she penned the following words: ‘He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater, He sendeth more strength when the labours increase; To added afflictions He addeth His mercy, To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.’
The words of Annie Johnson Flint’s lovely hymn touch our hearts, but they are not overstating the case for the power of the grace of God in our lives. Other portions of Scripture endorse this great and precious truth. ‘And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me’ (2 Corinthians 12:9). The apostle Paul could appreciate that regardless of the need, the grace of God was sufficient to meet it. Regardless of the burden, the grace of God was sufficient to lift it. Regardless of the sorrow, the grace of God was sufficient to sooth it. Regardless of the frustration, the grace of God was sufficient to find a solution. The grace of God always exceeds the need.
In our text, James is actually quoting Proverbs 3:34: ‘Surely He scorneth the scorners: but He giveth grace unto the lowly’. Whether we use the word ‘lowly’ or the word ‘humble’, we find the supply of grace available to a select portion of His people. This inexhaustible resource is not available to the proud and the scornful. And because they know nothing of it, they love to mock it and those to whom God has given grace. Does their mockery negate the grace of God? Of course not. But if we are to appreciate God’s grace, we need to do so with a humble spirit, remembering that it is by grace that we are saved, and that not ourselves, not of works, lest any man should boast’ (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Not to worry, you cannot exhaust the grace of God. Just when you think you have, He giveth more grace. -Jim MacIntosh