By The Grace Of God

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+4:6&version=NIV1984

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+2:8&version=NIV1984

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+4:7&version=NIV1984

The other night I was preparing to take a shower.  I take one every night.  For some reason, on this particular night, I thought about it.  About how fortunate I am to have running water.  And hot water at that.  So that I can take shower.  And become clean.  Feel refreshed.  From there I began thinking about how many other blessings I enjoy in my life.  And how I don’t deserve them.

Have you ever wondered about this?  It seems that when bad things happen a lot of people go down this road.  How they don't deserve things.  But their focus is on all the bad things in their lives.  I don’t deserve to be laid off.  I don’t deserve this illness.  I don’t deserve to be 30 and still single.  Or divorced with three children.  But how many of us focus on the good things in our lives?  What have I done to deserve all the blessings that God has given me?  I have come to the conclusion that predestination plays a part in this.  On a practical level, it’s all about the grace of God.

By the grace of God I was born into a family that had a father and a mother.  By the grace of God they wanted me.  By the grace of God I was born in a hospital.  Where both myself and my mother received the best medical care.  By the grace of God I was born healthy.  With all my limbs.  With all my organs functioning properly.  By the grace of God I could see.  And hear.  Later I was able to walk.  And think.  By the grace of God my parents were good people who tried to raise me the best they could.  By the grace of God I wasn't born into a wealthy family but a poor one.  As a result, it taught me the value of things.  That money doesn’t grow on trees.  So I should spend my money wisely.  And that I need to take care of my possessions.

By the grace of God, I had enough food eat.  Clean water to drink.  Clothes to wear.  A roof over my head.  By the grace of God I was born in the USA.  I could have just as easily have been born in any other country.  Or any other time.  By the grace of God I was born in 1953.  I could just have easily been born in 1853.  Or 1753.  Or 53 BC.  By the grace of God I was able to attend school.  To read.  To learn.  To expand my intellect.

By the grace of God I was miraculously healed of a brain tumor when I was a young boy.  By the grace of God my parents kept their promise to start going to church if God healed me.  By the grace of God I heard the Gospel message and was able to respond to it.  By the grace of God the rest of my family responded to the Gospel as well.  By the grace of God we started attending a small church where I received great Biblical teaching.  By the grace of God there were plenty of opportunities for me to serve and develop my gifts and talents.  By the grace of God our family moved to a different neighborhood.  Where I eventually met my future wife.  Who lived 3 houses away.  Across the street.  By the grace of God I was also healed of epilepsy.  By the grace of God at age 17 I didn’t get that job in the automobile plant that paid so well.  By the grace of God I also didn’t get sent to Viet Nam when I was drafted at age 18.  The epilepsy prevented that. 

As I reflect back on my life I see the grace of God all over it.  In big ways.  And in small ways.  The thing I have come to realize is that at numerous times in my life, it could have easily taken a different direction.  Except for the grace of God.  The fact is that you can say the same thing about your life.  No matter where you are living or what your circumstances are, your life could be vastly different.  Except for the grace of God. 

So the next time that you begin to feel sorry for yourself, think about the grace of God in your life.  And how vastly different it would be if He hadn’t given it to you.  The fact is that each and every day God pours His grace into our lives.  We don’t deserve it.  If we did, it wouldn’t be grace!  As a result, there is no place in our lives for bragging.  Pride.  Or feeling that we are superior to others.   Because it is only by the grace of God that we are who we are.  And that we have what we have.  Instead, the grace of God ought to cause us to be thankful.  Like the Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 15:10 we should say, “By the grace of God I am what I am and His grace to me was not without effect!”

Lord, thank you so much for the grace that You have poured into my life.  Grace that brought me to You.  Grace that has molded me and shaped me.  And caused me to be the person I am today.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.