God sees what we cannot. While delays, detours and dead-ends can bring about disappointment and frustration, they may be God’s way of blocking us from something He doesn’t mean for us to do or have because it is not good for us or others in the end. Let us rejoice when this happens, for when God says “No” to our plans, He is saying “Yes” to something He has planned that is far better. Costly mistakes are avoided, and wonderful blessings are gained when He steps in to order our steps. Remember: when God graciously reroutes the lives of those who are trusting in Jesus, it is always to put us on the right path.
When We Listen To Him
You can talk yourself into just about anything. Other people will try to talk you into something. Only God will talk to you truthfully about everything. There are many voices that speak into our lives such as family and friends, news and social media, advertising and entertainment, and especially ourselves … but the loudest (most influential) should be God. We are being shaped by influences all around us which is why it is essential that each day we read God-breathed words in the Bible and listen to God-sent voices who speak His truth to us. When we listen to Him… He won’t just tickle our ears; He will delight our souls.
God Is Near
God is near us when we have broken hearts and broken spirits. Whether we are struggling with our own sin, the sin of others, or the result of sin’s fracturing of our world, He is never distant even if seems that way. He hears our cries. He comforts our hearts. He meets our needs. Though the result will not always be when we want it and how we want it, we have His promise that we will lack no good thing. This is true because God did not spare even His own Son from suffering. Jesus is our ever-near Immanuel, who lived, died and rose so we can taste and see God’s goodness. Mingled with tears now. Free from tears later.
It’s Never Right To Be Angry With God
It’s never right to be angry with God. It’s a sin. When we are angry at Him, it’s an assault on His character. It’s, in essence, saying to God regarding the circumstances that have caused such strong resentment in us: You are not right. You are not good. You are not wise. You are not loving. And none of those things are true, no matter how hard life gets. What is true is that God is unbelievably good and loving to us, and is actively working out a wise and right plan, no matter how hard life gets. He will make it all right when He makes it all new. So, be mad at sin, brokenness and Satan. But never be mad at our good, good Father.
Offer Thanks For His Giving
We can be grateful for many things, and we should be. We can be grateful to many people, and we should be. We can be grateful on many occasions, and we should be. But there is One who makes every good thing, every good person and every good occasion in our lives possible by His amazing grace. God sent Jesus to be perfect for us because we aren’t, absorb wrath for sin so we don’t, and secure the blessings for us that we can’t. Jesus paid our sin penalty and paid for our special privileges so that we might be forgiven, freed and favored. Today and every day, let us offer thanks for His giving.
Grace Always Fits Two Things
God’s grace is always in harmony with God’s will. That means although He will do for us what is good for us, it will often be in ways that are different than what we expected, desired or requested. Grace always fit two things: what we need and what God wants. It will serve both our particulars and His purposes, ensuring that our needs are cared for and His plans are carried out. God is wisely superintending the entire cosmos while intimately attending to you and me. Let us praise Him for Who He is and for what He does! We don’t have to understand how God is working it all out for good; we just need to trust that He is.
Grace Is Always Right On Time
It never arrives too early. It never arrives too late. Grace is always right on time. God’s unmerited favor for undeserving people is both customized to fit what we need and calculated to arrive when we need it. Neither the size of the trial nor the strength of the temptation will ever be a match for the well-timed help that God sends in the many moments that are too much for us to handle alone. When you feel like giving in to temptation or giving up in a trial, that’s when you can know for certain that grace is there. In your time of need, God will ensure that you have what you need. Our timing is rarely perfect; His always is.
Before We Ask, Because We Ask
Sometimes God gives to us before we ask and sometimes because we ask. While God does countless gracious things for us without us requesting them or even realizing them, there are some things He does only as a response to us humbly asking Him. To be sure, we don’t pray to get what we want to build our own kingdoms; we pray to get what we need to live for His. Still, God loves to be seen as generous, loves for us to appeal to His generosity, and loves to give generously to us because He loves us. So, ask Him. Pray often, celebrating the grace already given to you and requesting the grace that is yet to come.
Grace Will Always Come Alongside To Help
It’s not just about your past and your future. It’s also about your present. Our sinful separation from God is behind us, and our face-to-face fellowship with Him is ahead of us. In between the two is the nowness of everyday life. And grace is there. The way that God works in our lives is very practical for the right here, right now moments of our lives. You will not face a single situation today, good or bad, self-induced or involuntary, hard or easy, quick or lasting, anticipated or unexpected, that God has not provided for. No matter what is happening on the inside or the outside, grace will always come alongside to help.
Grace Is All Around Us
We know grace is God’s “unmerited forgiveness, freedom and favor” toward us, but that’s very generalized. What does it specifically look like in everyday life? It looks like: forgiveness during failures, peace during storms, hope during trials, comfort during heartaches, joy during suffering, guidance during uncertainty, rest during busyness, strength during temptation, blessing during good times, help during bad times, and so much more. But even that is not as pin-point accurate as grace really is, for it shows up in countless minutiae within each of those categories. Look and see… Grace is all around us.
It’s A Buffet, Not A Bite
By grace, God serves up an endless feast of soul-nourishing, soul-delighting blessings for those who trust in Jesus. This includes: forgiveness, friendship, freedom, wisdom, power, peace, purpose, joy, hope, security, rest, justice, thankfulness, assurance, deliverance, guidance, significance, endurance, comfort, companionship, care, courage, transformation, satisfaction, love and life. And this is not a complete list! The countless implications and applications of the benefits that are ours by grace are staggering and extend from now until eternity. It’s a buffet, not a bite. In Jesus, we have the life we’ve always wanted.
Grace Has Gotten Us This Far And Grace Will Get Us …
Every good thing about who we are, what we do or what we have is the result of God’s grace. It is all undeserved and unmerited. Yes… We may live wisely. We may be highly motivated. We may work hard. But none of this originates with us because God freely supplied the ability, opportunity, voracity and community to make these things possible. He’s been working on our behalf our entire lives! Because God is gracious, we do not have the fear, frustration, or futility that comes from depending on ourselves when we depend on Him. Rest in this today: grace has gotten us this far; grace will get us all the way home.
The Evidence Of God’s Grace
What is going on in your life today? If something good is happening, it’s by grace. If something bad is being handled, it’s by grace. That sunset, steak and surprise text. That’s by grace. The trial you’re getting through and the trouble you got through. Yep, grace. Your ability, opportunity and community … grace, grace, grace. The tears wiped away and the smiles of the day. Grace on top of grace. Beating hearts, peaceful sleep, acts of service, growing pains, caring friends, strength to continue, paid bills, lessons learned, fresh water, hugs. You can’t look in any direction without seeing the evidence of God’s grace.
God Is Working While We Wait
We don’t know what it means. We don’t know what is coming. We don’t know what to do. In times when the diagnosis is unknown, the situation is unresolved, the path is unfamiliar or the outcome is uncertain, what should we do? Sometimes the thing we are to do is to do nothing. We wait. We wait on the Lord. We wait in hope on the Lord. We wait in hope on the Lord to guide us, help us and deliver us. While it’s not easy to wait, it’s comforting to know that grace is on its way and that God will make a way. As our lives are on hold, let us remember with joy this beautiful truth: God is working while we wait.
Sharing And Bearing Burdens
As brothers and sisters in Christ, we are meant to bear each other’s burdens so that the heavy load of hardship is lightened. This could be to use our ears to listen to a confession or a cry. This could be to use our mouths to speak a word of encouragement. This could be to use our hands to meet a physical need. But none of this will happen if we don’t let each other know about burdens or if we don’t let each other help with burdens. God means for us to be dependent, not independent. Firstly, on Him. Secondly, on Him through each other. Today, share your burdens with others and bear the burdens of others.
The Most Rewarding Thing We Can Ever Do
The most rewarding thing we can ever do is admit our lostness, helplessness and unworthiness to enter God’s kingdom, and depend completely on His mercy and grace. When we acknowledge our need for God and turn to Him in faith, we are given access to His kingdom and all of its benefits for us in Christ. The kingdom of heaven has a King … and it’s not you or me. It’s an infinitely wiser, stronger, kinder King who rules over the lives of His people for their good and unleashes so many blessings on them that it will take an eternity to experience them all. We get a foretaste for now and a feast forever. All hail King Jesus!
God Shows His Love For Us
Day after day He says it. Day after day He shows it. God lets us know He loves us in countless ways if we will listen and look for it. Sometimes it sounds like a plea for repentance or a call to faith or an invitation to serve or a warning of danger or a word of encouragement. Sometimes it looks like a timely-met need or a quiet moment to rest or a special time with loved ones or a normal day with food, clothing and shelter. But most verbally and visibly… It sounds like “A Savior is born,” “It is finished,” and “He is risen.” It looks like a manger, a cross and an empty tomb. God speaks and shows His love best through Jesus.
Battling Unbelief
There are days when our biggest battle is against unbelief. We start to doubt that God cares about what is happening to us and that He is going to do anything about it. To battle unbelief, we must remember God’s faithfulness in the past and remember God’s promises for the future. He has always taken care of us, He is taking care of us, and He will continue to take care of us. Defeat your doubts by remembering today that He has a good reason for what He has allowed into your life and that He is actively working it out for your good. God cares about what is happening to you, and God will show His care for you.
Two Kinds Of Help
There are two basic kinds of help. First, there is help for things I can do without you. Second, there is help for things I cannot do without you. I can lift a cumbersome box by myself, but your help would make it easier. I cannot lift a couch by myself, so your help would make it possible. As branches to the vine, we only receive the second kind of help from Jesus. He helps us do things that we could not do apart from Him (John 15:5): bear fruit, do good, live rightly, have faith, glorify God, persevere, experience His joy, everything. His help doesn’t just make these things easier. His help makes these things possible.
Help For Doing What Is Right
So often we don’t know what is right to do, haven’t got the desire to do what we know, and can’t do what we know and want to do that is right. We need a power from outside of us to come inside of us so we can live in such a way that God is honored and we are happy. That is exactly what God gives us: the powerful Holy Spirit living in each of us who trust in Jesus. He guides us on the way. He encourages us on the way. He helps us on the way. The Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to go to good places to do good things as we share good news about a good God. Ask Him to help you decide, desire and do what is right today.
