Grace: God’s Second Chance Apart from God, there is no hope. Only eternal separation from Him. Can you imagine a life without hope? Now, can you imagine the Father’s declaration that we are not guilty in His sight? By faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, we have peace with God. It is by faith that His grace is more than enough for us. It’s easy to glorify God in the good times. Have you had times of chaos when you simply didn’t think about glorifying God but focused on the situation instead? When times are chaotic and uncertain glorifying God isn’t so easy. It is through these times of chaos and uncertainty that we grow when we glorify Him. When we learn to persevere and have hope. Through perseverance, we grow in character, and through that growth, we develop hope. God’s love is so deep that by His grace we are given a second chance. When things feel out of control, remember the Father hasn’t forgotten you. He extends grace each day and you need only accept His grace for you.
My devotional for today was about praying with impact. Which got me thinking about how I pray. It led me to this text message devotional that I sent out a few years ago. When the future seems uncertain, fear can take hold of us and drag us into a downward spiral. Take those who are still struggling to bring some sort of normalcy from the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. I imagine the uncertainty of when things will start to normalize weighs heavily on them. We can’t help it. It is part of who we are. We all experience fear in our lives at times and at different levels.
Praying you are encouraged and blessed by God’s truths over your life.
Hurricane Helene left a wake of devastation as it roared through the Southeast. People were caught off guard by the intensity even though we knew it would be serious as it made landfall. People prepared, but it went through places no one expected. Through it we learned where our strength comes from. The LORD indeed is our strength. Give thanks to Him for all He has, is, and will do in your life. Lift Him up and shout it from the mountain tops. Have a wonderfully blessed day.
Have you ever felt that tug, you know the one, where you felt like it was time to move on but you weren’t sure where you were supposed to go to? I know I have and when the tug starts I get a restlessness and I know that God is getting ready to do something in my life. I loved being in ministry, I had been in ministry for over ten years when I felt the restlessness. I was burned out and knew it was time for a change. It wasn’t long before God opened a door. We had been through cancer with my husband and in 2016 we had lost my mom to thyroid cancer. Looking back, I think God was preparing me for what would be a roller coaster of a ride. He opened a door for me to work at the same place as my husband. I worked there for about a year when another door opened and I went to work for a lab. God was preparing me for ministry once more. In 2019 I went back to work at the church I had previously worked at and it was such a blessing. I thought I would be working out the rest of my work days at the church. Little did I know that life would be changing once again. Because of all the construction taking place on the island where I worked, it was getting difficult to make the trip 6 days a week. What used to be a 30 minute drive was turning into a nightmare of not knowing how long it would take to get to work. I was getting restless for sure but like I stated earlier, I hadn’t planned on moving again.
You know how we only see a portion of the picture, while God sees the big picture and He knows what is up ahead. No wonder He tells us not to worry about tomorrow for tomorrow has enough of its own worries. God knew there was a time coming in which I would need to be closer to home, closer to reaching my husband in minutes and not 45 minutes to an hour or more. He opened a door. This time I was going back to work in the same place I had worked at before which was where my husband worked. Before I knew it, God opened my eyes to see why He had brought me back to a place I never thought I would work at again. At first my husband needed to have gall bladder surgery. Then after two years of not getting COVID, our whole family came down with it. Praise God we only had minor symptoms and we were able to quarantine together at home. The time was coming when my husband would need me to be seconds away as opposed to the long drive across the causeway.
My husband has graciously allowed me to share his story. You see, in the fall of 2022 my husband had a major meltdown at work and had to be hospitalized for a season. It was without a doubt one of the hardest times for not only him but for all of us. He was out of state and the only way to communicate was via snail mail and the occasional calls. I grew to dread the calls because honestly, they weren’t pleasant. He begged me to let him come home because the place he was at wasn’t quite what we thought it would be. We thought it was a faith based place and it was but it wasn’t. Yes, it was what he needed at the time but it was hard. I had to be the tough one and say “no” every time he asked me to bring him home. I received his letters out of the order he had written them but not out of the order God intended them to arrive. Twenty-one days and let me tell you they were a long twenty-one days.
Some of the letters reflected the negatives and others were a little more upbeat and hopeful. Whew the negative letters-well it definitely wasn’t my husband. He did meet some Christians there also needing to get help and they sort of hung out together when possible. There were church services on Wednesdays & Sunday afternoons and a few people did attend. On one such occasion my husband witnessed someone accepting Christ as their Lord and Savior. He witnessed another rededicating their life to Christ. He was able to share a Bible study and had someone asking him to teach them how to read the Bible. But still it was hard being apart.
I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.
Psalm 118:17
My husband’s life verse Psalm 118:17 –
Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
Nehemiah 8:10b
My life verse Nehemiah 8:10b
“For where His joy is there my strength lies and my sorrows are no more. You can’t have sorrow when you have His joy for sorrow can’t exist next to His joy.“
Jean Marie
Maybe you have a similar story whether you or someone you know. I would encourage you not to give up. As a caregiver it is probably the hardest job in the world when it is someone you love. As the one who needs a caregiver, it is the hardest thing to let go and let someone else help you. Especially when you can still function on your own for the most part. There is help out there for you both whether through seeking professional assistance or through (and to me the best and most effective help) prayer warriors and your church family. Maybe you don’t have a church family or people to pray for you. I can say this if there is one person in your life who is a Christian, trust me, they are praying for you. I am a living testimony to that. I had family praying for me after I left home and I never knew it until years later after I reconnected with my faith.
Happy Friday everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful week. It has been an interesting week. I want to share something that happened to me this week. Once upon a time….(Kidding! So not writing a children’s book!😄)
Years ago, my mother received the opened heart shaped ring above. Not long after my son was born, during one of our visits home to see her, she asked if I like the ring. I said yes and she gave it to me. She said “You’re a mom now, I want you to have it.” I asked if she was sure and she said yes, so I accepted it and wore it for a few years. This week I decided to wear my “mom’s jewelry” things that she had given to me throughout the years. I put on my earrings, put on my “mom” ring, and off to work I went. The ring didn’t fit on my ring finger, but it did fit on my pinky finger albeit a tad loosely. I thought I’ll be careful and it should be alright.
Walking to the mailbox at church to send off some mail, walking through the church building, sitting at my desk working. I did all theses things and managed to keep my ring on. As I sat at my desk working, I didn’t give it a thought. It was later on when I went to wash my hands that I noticed it missing. I thought, NO, not my ring from my mother! I’ve had this ring for over 23 years! I retraced my steps, I went to the mailbox, walked through the building, checked my laptop bag, checked my purse, but all to no avail. It was gone. I had lost the ring. The whole time I was praying asking the Lord to help me find the ring. I backtrack again all the while praying and talking to the Lord. I’m telling Him that it wasn’t the ring itself, but it was the sentiment, it had come from my mom. I tell Him that I know I shouldn’t be worried about material things but…it was a gift from my mom. I ask if it were possible, could I find it. Then I’m saying “I know its stupid to worry about it, it’s just a ring, but my mom gave it to me, if it is possible can I please find it. Please show me.” So I retrace my steps once more, still no ring, so I start going through my laptop bag taking stuff out one at time. No ring. I go through my purse taking everything out, and there at the bottom tucked in a corner, lay my ring.
I started crying, thanking, and praising the Lord. And I sat in awe of the magnitude of finding my ring. It wasn’t the fact that I found it. But what it meant to find it. Of how much I am loved and because He cares so much, He showed me where to find it. I thought about what that meant to me to lose a ring that had sentimental value, to find it, and in that moment, I thought about how far Jesus goes to find His lost sheep. He doesn’t quit. He doesn’t say I give up. He keeps searching until He finds them.
What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?
Luke 15:4
Jesus says in Matthew…
For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.
Matthew 18:11
Have you had a similar experience where you asked the Lord to help you locate something and He has? How did it make you feel? I’d love to hear about your experience.
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