Living Under the Influence of Grace
My wife loves to go to the beach. She will read as she rests in the sand. Eventually, she will wander into the ocean's waves to cool off. You may wonder what I am doing while she is enjoying the beach's beauty. I am usually being burned by the sun. I have a fair complexion, which is not conducive for all-day stints on the beach.
I love to walk the beach searching for hidden treasures and pondering the meaning of life as I gaze at the sun setting over the horizon. But my favorite time at the beach is in the morning. Usually, the waves are quiet when the weather is clear. There are not a lot of people moving around. You may see the occasional seagull fly close by. As the sun rises, it beckons for a new day of beach-goers.
I look for early morning moments when God shares His grace with me. I scan my surroundings to see what God has in store for me to experience. I feel the wind sweeping the coastline from the farthest reaches beyond the horizon. I hear the waves ending their journey as they gently succumb to the boundary of the shoreline. I see the wide expanse of the mighty ocean as the dawn illuminates its darkest depths.
I consider these sights and sounds as moments of grace that God lovingly provides for me to experience Him. I remember that His spirit moves over me much like the wind caresses my skin. I am reminded that God shares His forever love with me in one moment of solitude on a beach and at another moment at a breakfast table with my wife. Much like the waves come and go with seemingly no end, so the love of God has no end for me. I feel His love cascade over me as I consider His goodness in this moment of beauty. I conclude that nothing can compare to the grace He shares in the stillness of an early morning sunrise lurking over the incomparable vastness of the ocean.
These moments of grace reflect the work of God much like the ocean reflects the influence of the heavenly lights on its ebbing tide. God who is the God of all grace (1 Peter 5:10) is working out His grace in our lives. God who "who made the great lights...the sun to govern the day...the moon and stars to govern the night" moves with the ebb and flow of an ocean current over every moment of life (Psalm 136-7-9).
At every turn, in every moment, with every trial, for every person, grace abounds. You can find His grace protecting you when you are in harm's path (Psalm 121:7), guiding you when you've lost your way (Psalm 32:8), comforting you when pain defines your existence (2 Corinthians 1:3-4), drawing you to Himself when you've been prone to wander (Jeremiah 31:3; John 6:44; 12:32; James 4:8), coming beside you when you are lonely (Psalm 23:1; 34:18; John 15:26), and saving you when you're lost and apart from God (Ephesians 2:8-9).
God's grace can be found in the quiet moments of solitude early in the morning, in the activity of a busy workday, in a sigh of relief when your head hits the pillow, in a romantic dinner with a spouse, in a community of believers, in a favorite scripture, in the embrace of a child, in the final breath from a wise, old saint, in a melody that inspires worship, and in the miracle that defies every part of the natural order. Grace's influence is everywhere because the God of all grace works moment by moment to lavish His love in every aspect of life.
Click this link to find out more about the influence of grace from my new book "Living Under the Influence: How Grace Sets Us Free from the Performance Mindset." Click this link to visit my author's website.
Comments
Post a Comment