Glow Deeper: The Throne of Grace
The Throne Unlike Any Other
The very first book of the Bible I ever studied deeply as a believer was Hebrews, and one verse has never left me:
“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)
A throne usually represents authority, power, and judgment. Kings sat on thrones to rule, to display majesty, to issue decrees. Some even tyrants.
But God, in Christ, names His throne something completely different: GRACE.
From Mercy Seat to Throne of Grace
In the Old Testament, God’s presence dwelled over the mercy seat, the cover of the ark of the covenant. Once a year, the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies, sprinkle blood, and atone for the people’s sins. It was sacred, but it was also distant. The people could not come near.
But now, through Jesus, the mercy seat has become a throne of grace. The veil is torn. Access is granted. What was once only for the high priest is now for every believer in Christ.
And here’s what takes my breath away: the phrase “throne of grace” appears only once in all of Scripture right here in Hebrews 4:16. It is as if God saved this exact description for this exact moment, to reveal the kind of throne He invites us to approach. Not a throne of judgment, not a throne of fear, a throne of grace.
This is where you hear the heart of God. In His presence, this is where you receive mercy. This is where you experience the freedom of grace, the grace that releases God’s Spirit to be all you need in every single moment. I am mesmerized by this. Oh, such great grace!
Because of Jesus, we don’t just approach God once a year through another’s sacrifice, we live in His presence daily. We don’t tremble outside the veil. We enter boldly inside.
Anchored in Him
One day, I was in the sauna, headphones in, when Cornerstone by Hillsong came on. The song borrows lines from the old hymn “The Solid Rock”:
“When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.”
Those words stopped me. What does it mean for an anchor to hold “within the veil”?
Curious, I googled it right then, and to my amazement discovered it was straight out of Scripture. Hebrews 6:19-20 says:
“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf.”
Suddenly the hymn, the song, and the Word came together.
An anchor doesn’t stop the storm. The waves still crash, the winds still blow, but the anchor keeps the ship from drifting. That’s what Jesus does for us. He doesn’t always remove the storm, but He secures us through it.
And where is that anchor set? Within the veil. Inside the Holy of Holies. In the very throne room of God. That means our hope is not fragile, not circumstantial, not tied to how tightly we hold onto Him. It is tied to how faithfully He holds onto us.
For me, that changed everything:
When anxiety tries to pull me under, I whisper my anchor holds.
When loss threatens to sweep me away, I cling to this truth my anchor holds.
When shame or failure try to define me, I remember my anchor is not in me, but in Him.
A ship cannot anchor itself, and neither can we. Jesus is our anchor, the One who holds us steady, firm, and secure. That is why our hope remains unshakable.
Rest at the Throne
The throne of grace is not just where we find mercy, it is where we find rest. Hebrews 4 reminds us: “Now we who have believed enter that rest.” (Hebrews 4:3)
So often, we think we must keep striving, keep fixing, keep proving ourselves before we can come to God. But the throne of grace tells us the opposite: stop striving and draw near. His rest is not earned. It is given.
That’s where the anchor image comes full circle. A ship does not rest because the sea is calm, it rests because the anchor holds. In the same way, our souls do not rest because life is easy, they rest because Jesus holds us secure in the presence of God.
At the throne of grace, we can exhale. We can set down the weight of performance. We can simply receive mercy and find grace for every need. This is the rest of God: unshakable, immovable, anchored in Him.
Reflection
Where in your life do you feel most unworthy to come near to God? What keeps you hanging back at a distance?
Picture yourself walking right into His throne room no veil, no barrier, no fear. See the anchor already holding you steady there. Hear Him say: “Come boldly. This throne is for you.”
“We don’t crawl to His throne; we run.”
