There is grace for that!

In last month’s blog (May 5) I shared with you some comments from a group that had just completed the Disciplers study of Hebrews. Reading through the comments, I noticed there was a phrase that was often repeated: There is grace for that! Those words have stuck in my mind and now every time I encounter a difficulty, begin to worry about something or someone, or if fear or anxiety crops up, I remember -- There is grace for that!

What is grace anyway?  The standard definition is that grace is the unmerited favor of God. Someone else has said that grace is our Benefactor reaching out with the free gift of His love, mercy, and power when we do not deserve it. But Dietrich Bonhoeffer has even more to say about grace. “It is something entirely improbable and incredible in the light of what we experience here. It speaks of a power and love beyond all worlds and wants to draw us away from our own world to another. A dark abyss opens up, and a voice commands: ‘Jump across. I will catch you and hold you fast. I am stretching out my hand. Now bet your life on it, and rely on me and on nothing else. My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).’”

So if you wake up in the morning and even before you get out of bed your heart-rate quickens at the thought of all the day holds, remember -- There is grace for that! When the day throws a curve ball and suddenly all your hopes and plans are put on hold -- There is grace for that! When a spouse walks out -- There is grace for that! When you lose your job and there are mouths to feed and bills to pay -- There is grace for that! When a loved one dies, or the phone rings and you hear the doctor’s words, "I’m sorry, the biopsy shows that you have cancer”, when a child disappoints, or parents fail, when friends turn away, and family gets too busy to call -- There is grace for that! When you sin and you think there is no chance of redemption -- There is grace for that! Whatever your situation, whatever your need -- no matter how desperate -- There is grace for that! God sees you! It is grace when He does that. He has seen you go your own way, seen you wounded, lost, and anxious. By His grace, He is there to heal you.

A lovely young woman who uses our Disciplers studies has a blog entitled "Grateful for Grace". And should we not all be grateful for the grace of God? I remember as a child, when I would complain about situations or people, my mother’s response would always begin with “But for the grace of God…………” So I learned early that all I am and all I have is only by the grace of God. I learned to stop complaining and be grateful for His grace.

“Oh to grace how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be.
 May Thy goodness like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee.”
                                                                                      Robert Robinson, 1757

What can you be grateful for today? How has God shown His grace to you? There is deep satisfaction in having gratitude for even the smallest things, for Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning (James 1:17).

With love, by His grace -- and betting my life on it
~Suzie

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