Thank God for His Amazing Grace

As I sit at my computer for hours editing the final manuscript of a soon-to-be-released book, I start to think “Thank You, God, for your amazing grace!" The author, young wife and mom of two young children, not only survived breast cancer but is knocking the ball out of the park with her story of overcoming faith in the worst season of her life. At the beginning of her journey, when the dreaded words came, "You have breast cancer”, her world came to a screeching halt and she wondered how she could make it through. That’s what we all think when we’re hit with a mind-blowing, earth-shattering, shaken-to-the-core, unwelcomed surprise of mammoth proportions. If I only read the first couple of chapters of her book and put it down, I’d be left with concern and disappointment for this young woman. Oh, but, hold on! The story didn’t stop at Chapter 2. It went on to Chapter 40 and continues on today. Thank God for His amazing grace.

As I read her story, I remembered times when I could hardly take a deep breath because of the utter pain and fear of what tomorrow would hold – never mind even making it through this day when time stood still. I have seen and endured things I would have never expected, and at the time, I wondered how I would make it. But, thank God for His amazing grace.

There is so much uncertainty in this world. So much heartache. So much disappointment. So many struggles. But thank God for His amazing grace. We know He is with us and is Who helps us hold it all together. "But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

We don’t have to know or understand everything at the starting gate of our life journey. It is certainly not easy not knowing, but it is a part of our story that God will use. What gets us through, is knowing we don’t go it alone or carry the weight of it all on our own. Thank God, Who gives us the strength to carry on. When we feel we can no longer stand, He carries us. We have all we need in Him and He is faithful.

This young woman is cancer-free today. Thanks be to God. But if you knew how God brought her through it all to today, you would understand the reasons why she is so grateful and loves Him so much. The same is true for me, and I suspect, it's probably true for you, too. We've come a long way, Baby! And, it's because of God's amazing grace. Our fears don't stand a chance when we stand in God's love. Our doubts don't stand a chance when we stand in God's grace. Our concerns don't stand a chance when we stand in God's faithfulness. Whatever you're facing today, it's just temporary. God makes sure of that so stay close to Him. Rest in Him. Trust Him. In His hands, all things are possible. So let's introduce our fears, doubts, and concerns to our Way Maker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, Light in the Darkness. "Nothing is impossible with our God!"

From Hyper-Space to Hyper-Grace

This post was inspired by a friend’s FB post a couple of weeks ago. She and her husband were at an arcade museum playing those good-old-days games. The museum gave them the opportunity to play the games as well as provided other media that traced the history of the games and their creators.

In my day, it was pinball machines that got our attention. Then fast forward to my children's era in the 70s & 80s when Atari was the latest craze. Video gaming was just getting its start. The screen resolution was so poor but we didn’t realize it was “poor”. It was the best we had seen in technology and we all had a blast playing. It was an exciting period of time when we had no idea how fast technology would accelerate. My son was an avid Atari player of the Asteroids and Space Invaders games. He got so excited when he pushed the HYPER-SPACE button to make his rocket ship disappear momentarily to escape being hit by asteroids or enemy spaceships.

Of course, I’m going to segue to a “God” comparison. Over the last few days, in light of the current political climate, my posts have been focused on getting our hearts in the right places, doing the right things, and being people of integrity and honor even when no one is looking. Yesterday, I referenced the mistakes we make even when we're purposing to do the right thing. We do our best and oftentimes our “best” falters. When it seems that our failures outweigh our successes, it could seem we are surely doomed for a life of hopelessness.

AW…but God’s amazing grace! I call it God's HYPER-GRACE that gave us His ONLY son to die in our place. The END was the beginning because He rose up out of that grave and today we have hope and life in abundance. The HYPER-Good News is His HYPER-GRACE is unlimited. When we are out-of-power and the enemy is targeting us to take us down and out, His HYPER-GRACE shows up to take us over or under or around or through the circumstances. And, the weaker we may feel, the stronger He gets. He comes in like a rocket ship with asteroids blazing and takes out the enemy altogether. One day, He’ll push the “HYPER-SPACE” button and we’ll escape and spend eternity with Him.

These scriptures assure us of God's amazing grace: "But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for MY power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9
"Let us approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:16

What Do You Do When Bad News Breaks Your Heart?

When Your Heart is Breaking -- Then What?
I sincerely ask God to give me the words I should provide in my daily posts, and today, I was compelled to share these words. Just maybe, your heart is breaking because of a recent tragedy in your life and you don’t know if you’ll survive the pain and heartbreak.

I heard a speaker share about the time when his dad was so ill, and in so much pain, that he really thought his dad would take his own life. He called his friend, a Christian psychologist, for advice. His friend said, "We pray that he won’t, but you may be right. He just might. And, it would be heart wrenching and painful for you. But, you will be okay, because you will still trust in God's sovereignty, you will bounce back because you will hold to your faith in God and you will live on with hope and determination. I know you, and I know the storms you’ve come through, and you will survive.” To that, I say "WOW"! Wow -- because it is so true for those of us who have met with a personal crisis, have experienced the loss of a loved one, who know the tragedy of financial loss, who know the pain caused from a divorce or broken relationship.....and we carried on. We made it through those times or, we are making it through those times now. The speaker went on to say that his dad lived beyond that time and, in fact, his last days were of sweet times with his family and friends and trusting in God.

Yesterday, I received a request for prayer for a family in my Tulsa home church. The wife/mother passed away just after delivering her newborn daughter. As heart-breaking as that story is, without a doubt, I know there will be loved ones and friends who will step up to give them support and comfort in these very tough times. There will be a healing process and they’ll be desperately looking for answers. But, with God’s abiding faith and love, they will make it. I know it, because I know so many tragic events and I know how those families not only survived, but they are thriving today.

I think that psychologist’s words, though straight-forward, were the words this speaker needed to hear. And those words ring true for all of us. When tragedy comes, we have an Anchor, and if we hold onto that Anchor, we will not go under. Yes, it hurts. But we will be okay, because we still trust in our loving Father’s plans and purposes for our lives. We will bounce back because we will hold on to our faith in God and live on with hope and great determination. Yes, we will carry on -- that is, those of us who know that this life is just a breath, compared to eternity. We will live another day and rejoice in our ability to stand strong in the face of overwhelming circumstances -- not in our own strength, but in His strength. "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." (2 Corinthians 12:9)

We know that this isn’t the end of our story. It’s a chapter in our story, and there are other chapters to write after this one. Our Savior isn’t a cold-hearted cosmic judge disconnected from our pain. He’s a loving Father and Friend who is walking with us and even carrying us through life’s most difficult times. Jesus said, “Never will I leave you or forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

One of the most beautiful promises in the Bible is that God “causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him…” (Romans 8:28). On this side of eternity, we don’t always see how He takes the broken pieces and creates something beautiful with them, but we can have peace in knowing that He will redeem the tragedy somehow in His perfect timing. Perhaps some of the good He will bring in our tragedy is to use the pain to bring us closer to Him or bring us into a relationship with Him for the very first time. And the end of each day, we will still proclaim: "God is good. All the time. And, all the time, God is good!"

From Hyperspace to Hyper GRACE

Day 260 of Photo Inspirations -- From Hyperspace to Hyper-Grace
I'm in awe at how far the graphics have come on video games today.  I well remember the 70s & 80s when Atari was the latest craze and my kids loved it.  It was a time when video gaming was just getting its start, with the introduction of one of our favorites -- Pong (a ping pong game) that consisted of  two paddles and a ball (no people).  It made for some serious competitions.   The screen resolution was so poor back then -- but we sure didn't care -- it was the latest, greatest thing in technology and we had a blast playing.  We also had Asteroids and Space Invaders. It was indeed a delightful period, but we had no idea how fast technology would accelerate.   I wish I still had that Atari game -- at least for the nostalgic value.  I still have the Nintendo 64 that we bought for our first grandson 20 years ago.  The grandkids -- no matter the age -- still love to pull it out and play it.

A few weeks ago, I heard a sermon by a minister who is about the same age as my son.  He talked about his Atari gaming days, playing Asteroids and Space Invaders.  He said he'd be so excited when he could push the HYPERSPACE button to make his rocketship disappear momentarily to escape being hit by asteroids or enemy space ships.  Then he segwayed into talking about our privilege of knowing God's HYPER-GRACE.

I loved that.  Isn't that what we've been given by God?  When it seemed like we were doomed for a life of destruction, hopelessness and despair, God's HYPER-GRACE gave us His ONLY son to die in our place, be buried and rose again to give us hope and life in abundance.  And His HYPER-GRACE is unlimited.  When we are out-of-power and the enemy is targeting us to take us down and out, His HYPER-GRACE shows up to take us over or under or around or through the circumstances.  And, the weaker we may feel, the stronger He gets.  He comes in like a armored tank with machine guns blazing and takes out the enemy altogether.

This scripture says it perfectly:  2 Corinthians 12:9 "But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for MY power is made perfect in weakness."  

We can trust Him because He is our faithful and strong God who oozes with the abundance of grace.   When we are weak, He strengthens us.   We are capable of far more than we can possibly think as we depend on Christ to uphold us and empower us. We can stand on His promises. He who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it. I don't need to know all of the details. I just need to know Him and His HYPER-GRACE that is sufficient for me!