Laced With Grace

HAVE YOU EVER GONE ON A LONG TRIP?

I was reflecting on the many trips that my husband and I have taken out of the country. Most of these trips abroad have been on mission trips with our church. We traveled in a large group and mostly we were told what to pack and what not to pack from the missionary we were going to assist.

However, a couple of years ago, we got to take a trip of a lifetime! In celebration of our 25th wedding anniversary, we booked a trip to travel Europe. Our first destination was Rome and then off to Paris and the final leg of our trip…London! What a marvelous trip.

A trip abroad like this one required us to pack lightly. OK … when you tell a girl headed to places like Rome, Paris and London … how on earth is she to pack lightly?

On arrival of one of our destinations, I recall sitting on the tour bus en route to our hotel to check in. I noticed this single young woman apparently traveling alone. All of our big luggage was stored below the bus, but as we loaded the bus, my husband and I lugged our carry on bag, our backpack and our book bag. The thing that struck me about this young lady sitting across from us (besides the fact that she was brave enough to travel abroad ALONE) was that her only carry on luggage was a single backpack.

She was unlike us, and apparently had traveled abroad before. She knew the importance of packing lightly! Some of us are going thru life and we do not understand the importance of  keeping our load light. We are weighted down by the STUFF that we drag around, day after day.

Don’t get me wrong … we ALL have baggage. Who among us can walk through life without picking up some kind of baggage?

• shame
• fear
• insecurities
• jealousy

The question I would like to ask you is “why do we persist on hanging on to this heavy load?”

In Scripture, we are reminded that we are to “cast our cares upon our Father”, but despite this grand offer made to us, we seem to find it difficult to lighten our load. We just continue to drag that baggage around with us day in, day out.

PSALM 68:19 “Praise be to the Lord to God our Savior, Who daily bears our burdens.”

My Friend, are you heavy burdened today? Maybe it is time for you to unpack those bags that you are carrying around and surrender your burdens to God in prayer.

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This was the natural waterfall and babbling brook that could be heard from my cabin. I had my quiet time with Him beside this stream each morning. It was such a beautiful fingerprint of what God had told me in His Word. “For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills.” Deut. 8:7

God used His holy paintbrush to bring beauty to this blessed place.

Don’t ever wonder about your loved ones again.

They still love you. But they don’t miss you.

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Cor. 2:9

Mary, the mother of Jesus. Chosen by God to give birth to our Savior. What kind of women is chosen for this job? Based on this scripture, we get an idea of what Mary’s heart looked like to the Lord. Please read this passage, it is often referred to the Magnificat. I thought the version from The Message was quite interesting.

Luke 1:46-55 (The Message)

And Mary said,
I’m bursting with God-news;
I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.
God took one good look at me, and look what happened—
I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!
What God has done for me will never be forgotten,
the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others.
His mercy flows in wave after wave
on those who are in awe before him.
He bared his arm and showed his strength,
scattered the bluffing braggarts.
He knocked tyrants off their high horses,
pulled victims out of the mud.
The starving poor sat down to a banquet;
the callous rich were left out in the cold.
He embraced his chosen child, Israel;
he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.
It’s exactly what he promised,
beginning with Abraham and right up to now.

I just love how this says, “I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.” This is why Mary was chosen; she praised God with all her heart even in a strange situation. Think about it… an Angel visited her and told her she (a virgin no less) would give birth to the LORD most high. And what was Mary’s response? Praise you LORD!!!

Mary is the only woman to EVER carry out this MOST important job. She was chosen because of her character. But, you know what? We are chosen, too!

Chosen for what?

You and I are chosen to live our life to glorify God. We are chosen to lift Him up and make Him known to those around us. We are chosen to live in God’s plan for us and to desire His presence in everything we do.

The Message also says in Ephesians 1:3-6

How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.

Does it blow your mind that God had YOU in mind as He created the vast universe around us? The next time you feel insignificant or ineffective remember this very fact and celebrate it like Mary did. God loves it when we celebrate Him!

So the final question is: What exactly am I chosen to do? I can’t answer that for you because that is between you and God. I do know that, when you place all of your focus on celebrating God and loving Christ, He will guide you where He wants you to go. Its so exciting when you really know deep down in your heart that God has chosen you for something awesome. Embrace it, be grateful to God and praise Him always.

Sarah Martin is Christian speaker and Bible study teacher. She and her husband, Greg, live in Pinehurst, North Carolina with their baby boy Grayson. Passionate about studying the Word of God, Sarah enjoys writing Bible studies and teaching Christians about how they can lift up Jesus Christ as King over all. It is her greatest desire for Christians to see that they can LIVE OUT the Kingship of Christ daily and make their Biblical Worldview a reality. Sarah is the Marketing Director for Speaking Thru Me Ministries, a fee-free event resource for churches. You can find out more information about Sarah at:
Speaking Thru Me
Live it Out!