⁹ Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.

To be strengthened by grace—how does one do that? Grace comes from God, it is His activity, His movement toward us. Grace is His enabling and His blessing. And we are the beneficiaries—not because we are deserving or have worked harder than the next person to get it, but because God is, well, gracious.

The New Living Translation renders this concept as, “Your strength comes from God’s grace…,” a simple statement of fact, which emphasizes the Lord’s initiative. It is indeed true that our strength comes from God’s grace, and not by ritualistic meals. However, the underlying grammar indicates a sense of obligation, an implication that there is something we “ought to do,” as the NASB here denotes it (along with most other translations). Not that our efforts should be ritualistic achievements, but that they should be in growing, of being strengthened in and through grace.

So how does one do something that is inherently rooted in something that is not his to initiate? The answer is this: rather than concentrating on the disciplines of the monastics (as is popular today in some circles), I should focus on what God has done for me and to relish in it, rejoice in it, remind myself of it, and keep it fresh. This provides the motivation for pursuing sanctification. Motivation that is rooted in what we do will always come short, but motivation by what God has done and is doing in us, gives us solid footing and traction in the life of holiness. It comes back to motivation by gratitude that we saw in Hebrews 12:28.

We are reminded every day of our fallen sinful nature, both by what we see around us and by what we see within ourselves. We pray daily with the psalmist, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way” (Psalm 139:23–24). We are ruthlessly honest with ourselves over our sinfulness, but we exceedingly rejoice over God’s grace. No other approach brings the “benefits” of sanctified living. Not the aesthetics of the disciplined life or the ritualistic fastings or denials of the flesh. That is backward, and will never work. We are called to God’s grace, and in there we look for and find strength to live in His way.

Lord, I am so prone to look to my own efforts to strengthen my soul. But it is only in looking to You that I find true strength to life as You have given it to me.