Thankful for God’s Grace

 

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”*  

When I was a child, I would run to my mom with a scrape or cut, looking for comfort in her arms. Later, a phone call to mom and dad would ease the pain of a broken relationship or a disappointment.  Al’s mom Char also knew just how to make her kids and grandkids (including me, her only daughter-in-law) feel better.

“Oh…I’m soooo sorry,” mom Char would say sincerely. If I needed sympathy I knew where to turn!

Now when I’m upset about something, my first instinct is to call somebody or rush to tell someone what has happened. It’s nice to have a sympathetic ear and a shoulder to cry on. Not that I necessarily want to fix the problem. Sympathy seems to make me feel better and so I gravitate towards my husband or to someone who can show me plenty of it.

It has taken a long time to realize that the best way to find comfort in the midst of hurt is to turn to Jesus, to go to Him first and talk to Him about it. He knows the pain I’m feeling and knows how to restore my soul.

The apostle Paul understood this and even went a step further, admonishing Christ’s followers to rejoice in the Lord. When there was a disagreement between two of the women in Paul’s former congregation at Philippi, he encouraged them to rejoice in the Lord!

Rather than running to their respective friends and spilling out their feelings thus causing division and discord, they were to find joy in their relationship with Christ. Then they were to respond to each other in gentleness, realizing that the Lord was in on their conversations!

Instead of worrying about their differences, they were to pray for themselves, for each other and for their relationship to be healed, giving thanks as they prayed. Then, His peace would guard their hearts and minds against hatred or other negative emotions.

The passage above has helped me, especially in turning to the Lord first rather than running to others sympathetic to my cause. While I can’t rejoice in the midst of heartache, I can rejoice in Christ’s love knowing that He is with me.

            In addition to joy in my relationship with Him, there are many other aspects of God’s grace that are cause for rejoicing. A familiar acrostic for the word “GRACE” is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. Are there any limits to God’s grace?

 His unconditional love is given freely to all who call upon His name. Through Christ, God’s goodness is showered upon me. He tells me that He loves me over and over each day in so many different ways. Sometimes I just soak it in, letting it permeate my soul like a sponge soaking up water.

When I can’t feel His love, I cling to the scriptures that assure me of it and remember all of the ways He has demonstrated it to me in the past. With just a little bit of soul searching, I can usually see something that God is doing in the present that is a manifestation of His love.

Then there are the promises in His word, promises of salvation, of the forgiveness of sins, of everlasting life…promises that bring much hope, promises that help me rejoice! They have carried me through many hard times.

On Sunday, Al and I were in the audience as our two youngest grandsons participated in the Civic Youth Ensemble event in downtown Detroit. Their parents were unable to attend this year—their mom was in the last stages of cancer, their dad caregiving for her around the clock. She passed away two days later, finally victorious over disease and death, and is now at home with the Lord. That is our comfort and our hope.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving this year, may we think about the ways He has showered us with His blessings and be thankful for His grace towards us regardless of the circumstances in which we find ourselves.

God is good! Let us rejoice!

*Philippians 4:4-7 NIV