Over the next few Mondays, let’s look specifically at God’s grace in the dark. Our dark. In the midst of our struggles – aka addictions, behaviors, lies we believe and yes, our sin; our stuff in regard to relationships, and our circumstances. I am hoping this will turn into a book and I would love your comments and suggestions as we ponder His grace in the last place we expect – the dim and dark places of life that need His touch. Here goes…
Honest and truly. It seemed to work – a little bit, but not enough.
When my kids were little and money and time were nearly non-existent and summer days were long and hot, I would plunk myself down in a battered lawn chair and soak up the sun. My three would play in the backyard while I let the warm rays wash over me, a trait southern Californians are known for. Except for when I had to often bark out referee calls to stop the every-five-minute disputes of my young ones, lounging in the backyard was an escape from the turmoil of darkness I had within me.
However, we had moved to a northern California valley, where summer was ever so much warmer and the invitation to be refreshed in an aqua pool of sparkling water put out her siren’s call frequently. The only problem was the restorative water calling me was in the form of a plastic children’s pool about yard in diameter. Still, I scrunched myself into a ball and the waters circled my ankles and bottom. It was awkward, not enough to cover me, and the refreshment was short-lived.
I have lived most of my life thinking God’s grace was similar to that blue plastic pool. It’s there. It’s available. But it barely covers or brings lasting refreshment. Or restoration. Or transformation.
Grace for some can be that foggy word in Christendom that sounds lovely, but it’s not enough to actually DO something. I loved the Lord Jesus – heck, my husband was a senior pastor, and I considered myself Spirit-filled, but the darkness of my inner struggles, my stuff, and my circumstances seemed light-years away from the lavish grace I read about in God’s Word. How wrong I was.
Over the next few Mondays, let’s look specifically at God’s grace in the dark. Our dark. In the midst of our struggles – aka addictions, behaviors, lies we believe and yes, our sin; our stuff in regard to relationships, and our circumstances. I am hoping this will turn into a book and I would love your comments and suggestions as we ponder His grace in the last place we expect – the dim and dark places of life that need His touch.
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