The Five All’s of Grace

by Katy Kauffman

He may have spent the night in the garden—the broken-winged butterfly. From a second-story window, I spotted yellow and black on blue. On a small mound of bright blue hydrangea, I watched the yellow and black wings of an Eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly lie ever so still. Unusual for a butterfly. What was more unusual was how much of his wings was missing—the back two had been damaged by something bigger than he.

Patience kept me from rushing outside to make sure he was okay, that he was still alive. When I came back to the window, his wings lifted, and he fluttered upward. Alive to face another day.

The challenges of life can sap our strength, and we may wonder how we can face another day. Can we do everything God has called us to do? Can we handle life’s demands and pressures?

That’s when we need to tap into God’s sustaining grace. The five all’s of grace enable us to go about each day in God’s strength, not our own. Even when we feel like our wings have been broken.

Imagine This Kind of Grace

The apostle Paul wanted to encourage the Corinthian church to remember that if they gave to God’s work, He would take care of them. Paul told them:

God is able to make all grace abound toward you,
that you, always having all sufficiency in all things,
may have an abundance for every good work.
(2 Corinthians 9:8 NKJV, emphasis mine)

God makes all grace available to us, that is, the desire and ability to do His will. He gives us whatever we need for whatever He has called us to. Grace can come in the form of perseverance, patience, power, wisdom, self-restraint, and more.

Imagine this with me—God makes all grace abound toward us at all times in all situations. This grace brings all sufficiency—a strength from Christ Himself that is independent of our circumstances (2 Cor 12:9, Philippians 4:11-13).¹

God’s grace for all times and situations enables to do all the good works He sets before us. Whenever we pray for someone, make a new friend, teach a class, encourage a fellow believer, witness to those who don’t know God yet, serve the church or our community, or share Scripture in some way—God’s grace gives an abundance of what’s needed.

Nothing is left out. Look at the 5 all’s:

1. All grace
2. For all times
3. To have all sufficiency
4. In all things
5. For all the good works God has for us

Amazing grace indeed. It’s not just for salvation, but for everyday life.

This kind of God-given provision doesn’t mean that we should rush, rush, rush to do every single good work we find. But we follow God’s lead to know which assignments are ours, and God does them with us. Now that’s an adventure.

Wing-Strengthening Grace

That yellow swallowtail hasn’t been the only butterfly I’ve seen with broken wings. Another one—a female swallowtail—fluttered into the garden right next to the house. I watched as she flitted from one butterfly bush to another, enjoying the sweet nectar. It was like she didn’t know she was broken.

When we feel broken in some way—from a tragedy, illness, difficult relationship, spiritual battle, or something else—God can help us to keep “flying.” His grace fills in the missing parts of our “wings,” and we can fly—we can do with God what we can’t do on our own.

Grace in the morning, and grace in the evening. Grace when we feel fine, and grace when we don’t. Grace for every challenge, and grace for every adventure.

Let God’s grace “fill in” your wings and sustain you at all times in all situations. May He guide you into each good work. And may you fly with Him, depending on His strength to face each day.

Discussion Point: If we remember that God’s grace is with us at all times in all ways, what form of it would you take into your tomorrow’s?  Leave a comment, and let’s talk about God’s grace!

1. Larry Pierce, The Online Bible, CD-ROM (Winterbourne, Ontario: Larry Pierce, 2019), Philippians 4:11.