April14, 2023

I’ve finally given myself permission to write as the spirit so leads, which means my original intent to write five to six days a week has taken a back seat to a new season. I’ll blog now when I have something to say that can’t wait any longer to be said, or as is the case to be written. Divine grace has been an undercurrent running through my consciousness this week. From the Tuesday prayer line devotional that dealt with it to another reading this morning titled “Grace Upon Grace,” my understanding of God’s grace is expanding. I’m compelled to share these thoughts because of a sentence in the devotional book, Be Still and Know that held my attention long after I finished the reading.   “…his grace so boundless, that when His Spirit lives in us, even a flat tire can feel like a blessing.” Really! A flat tire a blessing! Not possible.

It took some minutes for me to process this nugget. This is what eventually I gleaned. God’s grace is so all encompassing, so generously given, so evidentiary of His love that irrespective of our circumstances, we need never doubt that it is sufficient. And yes, that includes those times when we’re forced to pulled to the shoulder of the road and call AAA for assistance with that flat tire. After all, without His grace things might be a whole lot worse. But for His grace we could have lost control of the car and caused an accident. But by His grace the stretch of road upon which we were traveling might not have had a shoulder on which we could safely stop the car. By His grace we have the resources to pay for AAA roadside service. By His grace we are only a phone call away from assistance. That grace is the blessing that births joy. And, upon the arrival of whomever God sends to aid us, we are given an opportunity to give testimony to the goodness of the Lord.  An annoyance or even a disaster becomes an opportunity to share the goodness of the Lord.

“Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given,” (John 1:16) Bottom line: don’t sweat the big stuff, the middling stuff, or the little stuff. His grace covers it all. Walk in that grace daily.

Love. Joy. Peace.