In looking at Hebrews 4:16 we have seen so far that we are to come freely without fear to God’s throne which is a throne of God’s grace. He so favors us that no matter what we have done, or how bad a situation we are He wants to see us. No matter how big a problem is, or how small a problem is God is there for us and wants us to come before Him. Why? Because his throne is a throne of grace and we can come before Him no matter the situation. God is always willing to grant us mercy. There is nothing that we can do that will take us outside of God’s ability to grant to us favor and mercy. We saw in my last writing that one of the reasons that we come to God’s throne is to receive His mercy. Now let us take a look at another reason why we come to God throne.
Hebrews 4:16
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
We come to the throne not just for mercy but to find God’s grace. In other words we come to Him to find His favor. While it is true that we can and often do come to God when we are seeking His guidance to get through a situation we are already in, the use of the word “grace” or “favor” here implies more than this. It includes those times we come before God’s throne just to talk with Him. I don’t know if any of you remember the old Andy Griffith Show. For a long time it opened with a shot of Sheriff Taylor and his son Opie walking home from a fishing trip. Opie wasn’t in trouble; they were just enjoying each other’s company. They were most likely talking about worms, fish, trees, hunting and what have you. God wants us to come to Him for those times as well. Honestly, I personally believe that God loves it more when we come to the throne just to tell him “I love you,” and He has a chance to say the same to us. All too often we come to God only when we need help and/or advice. But like any of us would want to do with a friend, spouse, son or daughter; God wants to spend time with us and show His favor to us when we don’t have a need.
Let’s think of this in terms of that Andy Griffith Show opening. Opie and Andy are coming back from fishing. Do you think maybe prior to that there was a time when Opie’s father came in and said “Son, what say you and I go down to the fishin’ hole and catch us some fish for dinner.” And Opie said “Sounds great paw! Only I don’t have a pole.” And with a big smile, like only Andy Griffith had, he reaches behind the door to get the fishing pole he had hidden. That’s favor, that’s grace. Sometimes when we come to God’s throne just to tell Him we love Him; God’s got some gift or surprise just waiting just for us. God loves to show us His grace. What a wonderful God we have.
Keith Carter Ministries 