Part One: Grace Rules Instead
God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 5:20-21 AMP
I’ve been trying to write this for weeks. With mounting frustration I’ve started and stopped over and over, working through my own apprehension about God’s grace, and stumbling down a path lined with fears and feelings of not being good enough.
Maybe you’ve been there, too.
I have fought with this all my life. Fear of the unknown, fear of abandonment, fear of failure. These days it’s fear of being the one thing standing between my family and absolute destruction… and not being good enough to keep them safe.
That’s a lot of pressure for one person to carry, and I know that. I thought I had given those burdens over to the Lord, but fear has a way of creeping back in, especially when circumstances are beyond our control. As a mom of three young adult children, some circumstances can seem terrifying at best, and hopeless at worst. Fear makes us dabble in worst-case scenarios, turning all the scary things into impossible situations.
I know I’m not the only one who’s fallen head long into a pit of fear when it comes to uncertain circumstances, so let’s steer this boat back toward the Lord and all His provision, because He truly is our only hope.
Tossed by the Waves
Through this process of refreshing myself in the light of God’s grace, I have at times found the internal condition of my faith to be cold, shaky, and lying on the ground.
Circumstance after circumstance has come like powerful waves hitting the shore of my life. I thought I was swimming along just fine… working, serving, doing all the things… but the massive undercurrent of fear and doubt took hold of me, tossing and turning me in its churning dark waters until all I could see was the destruction of all I held dear. There seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel.
Life has a way of pressing down on us in just the right places to weaken our faith and fill our minds with doubt… but even when we make our bed in the depths of every worst-case scenario, our God is still there (Psalm 139:7-12).
A Grace Refresher – Truth #1
It’s Not About What We Can Do,
It’s About What Jesus Has Already Done
Salvation in all of its forms comes from the Lord. The Bible says, “Faith without works is dead,” and that is true. But long before we get to “works,” the tiny seeds of faith must be formed and planted and watered and given time to grow… and GOD ALONE CAUSES THE GROWTH (1 Cor 3:7).
Whatever it is we are “building,” whether we are working out our own salvation, praying for the salvation of our loved ones, or asking the Lord to deliver us from our circumstances… unless the Lord builds it, we labor in vain (Psalm 127:1-2).
We are God’s house that HE is building.
We are God’s field that HE is cultivating.
It will never work the other way around. We cannot with our good deeds and human excellence purchase our salvation or the salvation, healing, or deliverance of our children. When it comes to achieving the things that come only from God, the hands of our human works are tied. We will never be “enough” to attain them on our own.
So what do we do? We depend on God.
Through thick and thin, come hell or high water – dark and churning as it may be – we depend on God.
God’s Grace in Hard Times
Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment].
Hebrews 4:16 AMP
We depend on people every day to work and do their jobs well. We need to depend on God in the same way.
I depend on my doctor to understand how my body works, to correctly interpret my symptoms without fail, and to prescribe exactly what medicines I need to get well again. I have no question when I make the appointment that she will do a great job, treat me thoughtfully, and send me down a path to wellness. Without her training at my fingertips, my health would be deteriorating and my body would be sick and in pain.
I depend on her and I trust her medical instruction.
I depend on my financial advisor to give me sound advice for taking the little I have and turning it into much. I need his wise counsel. I need his eyes and ears on my situation because he knows the ins and outs of finances so much better than I do. I need his road map of new saving and spending habits that will set me up for success.
I depend on him and I trust his financial advice.
I depend on my husband to get up every day and earn a living, to do his part in the management and upkeep of our home and family, and to be a kind and loving partner who is present for the rest of my life. I depend on him to be the other half of my brain, a balancing force to my personality, and the father our children desperately need.
I depend on him so much, and I trust his love and friendship in my life.
In all the same ways I have learned to depend on these human people to do their jobs well, I know I can rest so much more in the arms of my loving Father God, who always works with excellence and perfection in every step.
Healer.
He is the Great Physician who holds healing in His wings, in the palms of His hands, and in the hem of His garment. No human doctor is a match for Him, no matter how wonderful they may be. The Lord is the author of all my systems, and He sees how they fit together from the inside out. He remembers when He formed my body in my mother’s womb, so He’s not surprised by all my inner workings. God is sovereign over all my health and wellness, so I trust Him to lead me and number my days according to His perfect will.
Provider.
He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. I am not the owner of my wealth and possessions, however big or small they may be, I am only a steward of the blessings He has given me. I give a tenth of my income to the church as an action of faith, placing Him at the center of my economic life, and saying, “All I have is Yours, Lord, do with it what You will.” In return, He guides my hands and informs my choices when it comes to finances. He puts guard rails in place to help me hold the line against debt, overspending, and living outside my means. He leads me to seek financial advice, financial freedom, and financial peace… no matter how much is in my bank account.
The Lord appeared to me (Israel) from ages past, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you and continued My faithfulness to you.”
Jeremiah 31:3 AMP
Lover and Protector of My Soul.
No matter what is going on around me… in my home, with my children, or in the world… God is with me. He has never left me, and He will never leave me or forsake me. Has He chastised me and corrected me and disciplined me whenever I have needed it? Yes. His love for me is like that of a good Father who creates strong boundaries for His children. If He has not corrected me, then what kind of relationship are we in? If He loves me, He will be honest with me in that love, or it’s not love at all… and all He is is love.
It is this part of the Lord’s character that allows me to walk through difficult times without crumbling. And when fear finds its way back into my heart, and when my faith crumbles onto the cold, wet ground, it’s this same attribute that looks me square in the eyes and pointedly says, “So do not fear, for I am with you!” (Isaiah 41:10).
It’s like He’s saying, “Hey… have you forgotten all we’ve been through together? Do you not remember the mountains we’ve climbed and the valleys we’ve conquered? After all that, how can you not trust me now? Yes, this is bigger than anything you’ve faced, and yes the voice of this circumstance is loud and difficult to bear… but I. Am. God…”
He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
Psalm 18:16-19 NIV
He drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support.
He brought me out into a spacious place;
He rescued me because He delighted in me.
Only Believe
So this is our grace refresher, our reminder of who God is in the midst of our storms.
He is God.
He is higher than human ways, human hearts, and human conscience. Higher than all other gods or idols upon the earth. Higher than our trials, fears, and seemingly hopeless circumstances. He is sovereign over all things because He is God.
Blessed is the one who does not work (Romans 4:5)… who does not try to figure it all out on his own… who does not settle for the human results of human efforts and the wages of his own actions. Blessed is the one who only believes in the One True God of the One True Bible, who keeps all His promises and does His work well.
He really is our only hope.
Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping… Abraham’s faith did not weaken… Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever He promises.
Romans 4:18a, 19a, 20-21 NLT
