Embracing God's Grace
In need of refreshment?
“but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:14 NKJV
As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
Psalm 42:1-2 NKJV
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25 NIV
Out there.
That’s how I felt when my boss informed me I needed to leave my store and become manager at another location.
This was not something I was seeking.
This isn’t even something I wanted.
I found myself precariously perched, not quite sure of what I was getting into and rather reluctant to leave my “pharmacy phamily” of co-workers I love and patients I’ve established long-lasting relationships with.
“Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do for your own good.”
My eighteen-year-old said that with a smirk during my initial state of “unrest.” I contemplated tapping him not so gently on his smug little head. I’ve said those very words to him more than once this year.
I get so annoyed when he turns my own words on me.
Especially when he is right.
The nest in the photo is actually in my front yard. I noticed it once the leaves fell. I’ve taken various shots of it for a couple of months now, clueless of how it would eventually minister to me.
Initially, it looked like a precarious spot for precious eggs. It is far removed from the trunk of the tree. I was thinking those particular bird parents may not have been that bright.
Then today, I saw that nest in a different light.
We had stormy weather not long ago. Twigs and trash were flung about. I even found a portion of one downspout far in the yard.
Then I looked up to find this nest unmoved. It was secure enough not to have fallen several stories to the ground below.
The limb can support the nest, yet isn’t strong enough to support the weight of neighborhood hawks or curious kitties.
Sometimes we may feel like we’ve been left “out there” but what if “out there” is for our own good?
What if our “limb” supports us but not the weight of things that would weigh us down like fear or doubt?
What if being pulled away from all we know forces us to look up to God instead of giving our attention to things beneath us figuratively and literally such as bad habits or outdated thinking?
Sometimes, if we won’t seek out our best, God will certainly push us into it.
These situations either mature us as we trust God or ignite the worst in us as we struggle to manage on our own.
It is often when we are pushed to the edge, we discover what God can do and what we are capable of with Him.
I learned long ago my comfort is hardly God’s priority. However, fueling my faith and teaching me to trust and obey are.
Maybe I’m not so much out on a limb as being nudged out of my nest.
It may well be the very thing that teaches me to fly.
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Matthew 6:25 NIV
Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
2 Corinthians 12:8-9 NKJV
Many people are under the notion that when they surrender their lives to God all will be well.
And it is well, but not in the manner most people initially think. Salvation provides no guarantee for a stress free and smooth existence.
In fact, choosing to submit to God often brings us to a point of doing things we don’t want to do for people we don’t even like!
That annoying friction many of us encounter day to day is there to smooth out our “rough edges.”
Sometimes we wonder why what looks like the worst of circumstances has come our way, oblivious that the very situation we despise will make us stronger.
Gold is purified in fire.
We, being more valuable than gold will ultimately find ourselves in hot situations as well.
Pride, idolatry, and selfishness are often burned away when God allows some of our hardships to mold us.
True compassion and patience are often learned after receiving such. We tend to judge less when we have our own personal failings to serve as a reference point for viewing others.
God does not give us problems, but He can surely allow our circumstances to teach us valuable lessons and provide clarity we would never receive otherwise.
Even when we are doing all the “right” things, storms will come.
Our trials and circumstances don’t have to defeat us. In fact, they are often the very stepping stones we need to propel us into our Divine purpose and Glorify God in the process!
God always imparts what we need to get through our situations. He never pushes us into anything He hasn’t prepared us for. Now, some of our “preparation” is often “on the job training,” yet we can rise up to our challenges instead of falling before them.
The apostle Paul is credited with writing a fair share of the New Testament. Persecution, imprisonment, and shipwreck didn’t lessen Paul’s resolve for doing what God called him to do.
Paul even suffered a “thorn” in his side that God refused to remove. I’m sure we can all relate to Paul’s plight. God’s answer to Paul’s plea for relief was “My grace is sufficient.”
And it is sufficient for us as well. When we resolve to stand strong and walk out God’s plan despite the pain, we ultimately fulfill His purpose for our lives.
And in doing this, we are blessed.
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:2-4 NKJV
I was speaking with my oldest son about making good choices and telling him not to make the same mistakes I had. In his teenage wisdom, this kid told me to “get over it.”
If one of my kids tells me to “get over it,” there is a huge problem. My first instinct was to look behind me and see exactly who he was talking to!
God spoke to me through my child. It is hardly the first time He has done that.
I suspect most of us have an “it” that holds the potential to keep us from God’s very best. Sometimes a painful reminder, or being tired and cranky allows our “it” to rear its ugly head.
Regret can morph into resentment and erode any forgiveness we “think” we have given.
When we don’t “get over it” once and for all our “it” will surely find its way back to us.
We are taught to forgive others as God forgives us.
Yet, often the hardest person to forgive is our self.
We may readily forgive others yet still cling to our own mistakes wondering about what could have been instead of what can be.
Abraham was instructed to leave his family and go forth into a new place God had for him. Still, Abraham took his nephew Lot with him. Eventually, that didn’t go very well and Lot received the best of the land that was divided between them.
Abraham got over it.
Abraham knew that whatever he had with God was far more than anything Lot could take away from him.
We would all do well to remember this very thing.
Whatever we lose, or mistake we make is insignificant compared to God’s best.
In our weakness, He is strong.
Bury the past in an unmarked grave and concentrate on new opportunities God can provide this year.
Get over it and get moving.
God is waiting on you!
“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.”
Philippians 3:13-15 NKJV
*** If you have lost your resolve and your resolutions fell by the wayside, simply pick them up.
Each day is a new opportunity to begin again…
Apples and pears have never been my favorites. I eat them because they are good for me. They are hardly as sweet as my summertime berries, yet they fill me up and keep those hunger pains at bay. Fall fruits also last longer, aren’t nearly as fragile and help scrape out the yuck in our gut!
There comes a time to push aside those sweet things that are tasty for those heartier things that will sustain.
I love devotionals and encouraging words but we must diligently seek God and study His Word. We need all of it and not just those verses we pick and choose. It is comforting to know better days lie ahead but we must prepare as best we can to stand strong against dark days and disappointments as well.
Spiritual fruit takes time to grow and develop. Many people are led to Christ in a moment. Yet, it often takes years to transform us from who we are into who we can become.
Love, joy and peace are sweet fruits for me.
Long suffering? Not so tasty.
Faithfulness and gentleness require a bit more from me as well. It is often our trying experiences that cultivate the characteristics we lack and allow us to produce good fruit.
If we are to mature and fulfill our purpose, we must partake of some things that aren’t so sweet.
Forgiveness. Obedience. Submission.
We grow when we choose to partake of things that are good for us and not merely those things that taste good.
What are you hungry for?
“For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil,” Hebrews 5:13-14 NKJV
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV
And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
Romans 13:11-12 NKJV
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Ephesians 6:10-13 NKJV
“Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope.” Psalms 16:9 NKJV
“Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;” Psalms 37:37 NKJV
“There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God [did] from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.” Hebrews 4:9-11
“That You may give him rest from the days of adversity, Until the pit is dug for the wicked.” Psalms 94:13 NKJV
“Come to Me, all [you] who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29 NKJV
But the path of the just is like the shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
Proverbs 4:18 NKJV
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.
Psalm 84:11 NKJV
Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
Matthew 13:43 NKJV
“Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope.” Psalms 16:9 NKJV
“Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;” Psalms 37:37 NKJV
“There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God [did] from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.” Hebrews 4:9-11
“That You may give him rest from the days of adversity, Until the pit is dug for the wicked.” Psalms 94:13 NKJV 
“Come to Me, all [you] who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29 NKJV
B Is for Blessed! 