Acts 15:11 “…we believe it is through the grace of the Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as we are.”
I have a lot going on. Last year was horrible and I am still dealing with the fallout. I don’t even know where to begin:
- There was a death in the family
- My employer began threatening me and attacking me even though I have exemplary work performance and attendance, for no apparent reason and using blatant lies (both financial insecurity and my integrity and the essence of who I am professionally at risk)
- Through emergent car repairs, extra doctor visits and big health issues, and emergent home repairs, my finances found themselves spread too thin to make ends meet
- My romantic relationship, lover and partner of 3 years left
- My adult child fell on difficult times and needed to move home and needed help being supported
- Every side of me felt like it was crumbling around me – and much of it was
I know people who have gone through one or two of those things at a time, and lost their minds under the weight of it. All of it at once and non-stop for a year now, its a struggle.
I tried all the remedies the world had to offer. I exhausted myself more. Then grace – through grace – by grace – and if not for grace…
God reached into that tornado and freely gave me the grace to take a breath, the grace to rest, the grace to see a hope and a promise of remedy, the grace to understand God loves me and I wasn’t alone going through it. Just as I was, a sinner and a mess, God’s grace saved me from these on going issues (one battle at a time) and saved me from myself – and saved me from eternal damnation.
- Grace to take a breath:
- Acts 17:25 “as if He needed anything. Rather, He himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.”
“He” in this verse is Christ Jesus, who gives EVERYONE (me and you – both of our loved ones who we pray for – literally EVERYONE) “life and breath”!
- Acts 17:25 “as if He needed anything. Rather, He himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.”
- Grace to rest:
- Psalm 37:7 “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.”
- Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
- Grace to see hope and promise of remedy:
- Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
- Grace to understand God’s love for me:
- Ephesians 1:18 “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints”
- John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish”
- Grace – God is with me:
- Psalm 23 “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” – Ephesians 2:8
Not. Of. Myself. – – Yes, I tried to do it myself. I tried and was defeated, depleted, and almost destroyed. Grace is a gift of God given out of mercy and love. God loved me so much He gave me the grace. See why he is my best friend?
| 2 Peter 1:2 “Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” |
Thank you for reading – be blessed.
If Not For Grace 