Laced With Grace

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! (Psalm 33:6-8 ESV)

My husband is a stargazer. He is completely fascinated with the beauty of the night skies. The past few months have brought some really incredible and exciting viewing opportunities.

First, there were Venus and Jupiter brightly shining in the night sky, side by side. Plainly seen with an unassisted eye, these two planets looked like tiny stars orbiting together; but the aid of our telescope allowed us to view some of Jupiter’s moons.

Then Saturn came in to view. Saturn shimmered and sparkled brightly, lighting up a clear sky. However, that was nothing compared to the view of Saturn with a telescope. Suddenly, the far away planet became the highlight on artist’s canvas with a black drop sky in the background. Saturn’s rings are beautifully seen in the telescope, almost as if it were a simple drawing. I don’t get as excited about stargazing, but seeing Saturn’s rings was quite spectacular.

Finally, this past weekend, we had a super moon where the moon was brighter and larger in the night sky. My Facebook feed was evident of the excitement others shared too. It was fairly unanimous – people were getting out to see the super moon and enjoy its uncommon beauty.

Last Friday, I had the privilege of taking my children to sit in on lectures by Ken Ham from Answers In Genesis. He very eloquently and convincingly shared with the children the truth about creation and God’s ultimate roll in it. They left amazed and in awe of our glorious creator – God of the Universe. It struck me at just how much “faith” it would require to believe that this is all the product of chance, just a big explosion of atmospheric gases culminating into this picture perfect galaxy we live in. I mean, really, stop and think about it. Think about the likelihood of gases in the air exploding and the beautiful rings around Saturn being the end result? Or the moons perfectly placed around Jupiter. Or our own moon controlling the tides on earth to such a perfect degree that there isn’t flooding or catastrophe? I really believe that process requires much more faith than that of a loving, creator God who created the world with a plan and purpose.

The beauty of the night sky is only a fraction of a marvel of God’s creation. There are so many amazing aspects of God’s creation just waiting to be explored, in space and on earth. So stop for a moment and reflect on your favorite part of creation. Is it the stars of the night sky? What about sunrise or sunset? Or the beauty of a white sand beach or the cool breeze from the top of a mountain?

I would love to read your comments on your favorite marvels of God’s creation.

The conference really got me thinking about what a loving God we serve. If our God can create something so wonderful, isn’t he quite capable of taking care of us? Just like the universe, we aren’t a product of chance either. We are made in the image of God, known and chosen before the foundation of the world. He truly loves us and will provide in need. Whatever we face, we can rejoice in knowing the creator knows us.

God created the earth with a plan of redemption found only in his son, Jesus Christ. As Psalm 97:6 says,

The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.

Lets pause and rejoice in His glory and righteousness!

In Christ Alone,

Dana

I grew up with faith. I know that’s not abnormal, but I walked away from it because I didn’t feel good enough and it was just so hard to be good enough. Good all the time. I couldn’t do it. And I couldn’t bear the guilt of not being good enough for God. Flash forward 20 plus years forward, and I became a Christian. I know the day exactly. I know the moment exactly and it’s been a whirlwind ever since. I fell in love with a Savior that forgives and forgets.

 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. – Romans 8:1

I fell in love with a Savior that gave me His righteousness in exchange for my sins. Who died on a cross so that I may live eternally with Him.

I fell in love with a Savior that has made me new.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. – 2 Corinthians 5:17

And yet, I still sin and those old feelings return. I am not good enough for my Savior. I am not holy as He is holy.

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” – 1 Peter 1:14-16.

Which leaves me where we began. I am unworthy of my Savior. I am not good enough to serve Him – to be loved by Him. I am not good enough. And, quite frankly, I never will be as long as I live in this flesh we call a human body. Even then, I know that God commands us to live in this body so as to glorify Him, which I do not always do.

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were brought with a price. So glorify God in your body. – 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20

So, where does that leave me. Not good enough to be worthy of the Savior who gives me eternal life nor to have His Spirit live within me.

Not good enough is a hard place to live at. Its mirrors are curved so as to accentuate your flaws and hide the lovely transformation that is going on within. It is a cold, dark place where shame and guilt are blown up like your face in a fun house mirror. Condemning whispers can be heard from every crevice in the floor that is perilously placed on a foundation of quick sand.

And that’s the problem. It’s not in “not” being “good enough” but in believing the lies of Satan that being “good enough” was ever a criteria of salvation. Jesus came for the lost, for the sinners, for those “not good enough” by the world’s standards. He came because I am not good enough and He knows that we can allow the world to swallow us whole if we believe those lies.

It is His Spirit living in us that makes us good enough – in our brokenness, flaws, weakness and inadequacies – in those places, He will rise up and bring glory to Himself because if we were “good enough” we would never need a Savior in the first place. Nor would we continue to cling to Him and allow His Spirit to transform us.

That does not mean I can be bad to the bone, as George Thorogood sang about in the early 80s.  Rather, it gives me hope that in obedience, surrender and enduring, God’s Spirit will change me – will transform me.

I am holy because He says I am. Not because I have done something good enough to earn the title of “holy” but because Jesus has – on the cross. And we are good enough because we have turned to Jesus to be our Savior and God. It is because of this that I am certain that my “goodness” or lack thereof is not measured by my failures but by my God’s ability to redeem me and glorify Jesus in the process. It is because of this that I praise Him not only when I get to heaven after I have been completely transformed, but here, on earth, as I go through the process of allowing His goodness to change me.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. – Philippians 1:6

Do you wake up thinking about bills and immediately started running through a gamut of emotions – from fear to thankfulness?

Me, too! And all these feelings hit me before my hands have even reached for the first cup of coffee. The other morning as I stood waiting on my coffee to brew, I thought of a verse that had stuck in my mind since I knew I would be confronting my pile of bills today:

“I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread” Psalm 37:25 (NIV).

I find so much comfort in that verse knowing that God will never forsake us and that he has promised to feed us. When I look at my stack of bills to be paid, the worry isn’t about my family starving.

But the fact that we’re not going hungry isn’t going to help me pay those bills.

There are real people in very desperate situations for whom this verse would be their hearts’ cry. But for many of us, food isn’t the problem. The problem is all the stuff we now consider essential to living. Think about what many of us consider “essential”:

• Cell phones

• Cable TV (with DVR)

• Internet

• Cabinets stocked full of food

As I began to study when Jesus said, “I am the bread of life”, I realized that most of the things I considered essential are nothing more than wants. Our basic needs are the same regardless of where we live: water, food, shelter, clothing, and love.

Financial troubles are a very real struggle. I talked with a friend this week whose electricity was on the verge of getting cut off and another friend who is losing her home. Some of us are paying the bills but having to say “no” to our kids for the first time ever. What do we do when we find ourselves in these kinds of situations?

When I see verses like the one above in the book of Psalm, my heart knows that isn’t my situation.  So if I try to pray it, my heart says, “Seriously?” More than likely, since you are reading this on a computer, it isn’t your situation either.

So what should a middle-class woman who has water, food, clothes, shelter and love do?

The first thing is to be thankful. What are you thankful for right now? Most of us are adjusting to tighter budgets, but we are not in truly desperate situations. Find time to focus on what is going well in your life and tell God you are thankful for it.

Secondly, expect God to do something. It is in his nature to respond to our cries for help, whether the mess is our own making or completely out of our hands. Personally, it seems I spend a huge amount of time thinking about my troubles – but am I praying about them? Be deliberate in deciding to pray about your troubles but with a mindset of whether what you are praying about is a need or a want. Sometimes, I think I try to convince God my want is a need, and he’s not buying it. But when I acknowledge how it’s a want, my heart feels freer whether the answer is a yes, no, or wait.

Thirdly, when he opens a door for us to change, be willing to walk through the door, knowing God is working in your life. A couple of years ago I had the opportunity to write about bathrooms for extra money. When they first asked me about doing it, I thought, “No way. I can’t.” Well guess what? With God’s help, I wrote more about bathrooms than I would have ever dreamed. Look for ways the talents God has given you might help you make some extra money.

Most importantly though, we should embrace frugal living. And not in a begrudging way but by doing so with a joyful spirit. People will be drawn to a woman of God who can be joyful even when she is serving rice and beans … again! That’s what we are having tonight I might add!

We can handle these changes with grace and thanksgiving, and God will give us the ability to do so when we shift our focus from our momentary troubles to who He is~ I am the Bread of Life!

How we handle our situations will direct the response of our entire household. We can either respond by sinking into feelings of defeat and despair – or we can respond by becoming a testimony of God’s provision.

How could knowing that Jesus is the Bread of Life, change your view today? If you leave a comment you’ll be entered for a free copy of Seriously God?

I would love for you to read first pages of Seriously God? and then join in our discussion on wants verses needs in regards to our bill list. Or join our online Book/Bible study for Seriously God? sarting in June. You can find all the details at Keeping In Stride.