In my last post, I talked about being receptive to God’s Grace. In the process, I shared my experience of receiving a message of Grace after trying to understand God’s will and our will. Let’s talk more about God’s will and how “willingness” (also discussed previously), comes into play.
I understand how hard it is to be willing to accept God’s will. Our humanity, our ego, wants to cling to something solid and familiar here on earth, something that makes us feel secure and comfortable and something to grasp that won’t let go. However, that “something” will always be short-lived and soon we will be looking for yet anothe r “something” to replace it. This brings anxiety, stress and disappointment to our life.
Willingness is required in order to believe, to trust, to let go and to live God’s will. Often we ask: Does that mean I have to give up painting, which I really enjoy – or writing – or gardening? God gave each of us wonderful skills and He doesn’t expect us to be something that we are not. When our heart sings because of the work we do or the pastimes we enjoy, that is His creativity coming through us. Instead of being afraid that God might turn us into something different that we might not enjoy, realize that God always makes things better for us. “And we know that all things work togethe r for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
An easier way to look at this is not to look at “what do I need to give up” but realize that God’s Grace is a never-ending gift that just keeps on giving. Sometimes we get lost in our life’s journey – a loss of a job, financial hardships, tragedies or a loss of someone close to us. When we are willing, we realize that God actually is using those difficult times to strengthe n us and to bring more depth into our lives, which enriches our lives. So, instead, it becomes an opportunity to await the newness and the change and the plan that God has for each one of us. This takes patience. The Creator of the entire universe is supporting us each day – and is with us on every turn – and we must grow in trust to realize that. Remember this passage: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
Our part in the process is to utilize our will alongside God’s will – it eventually feels like we’re actually working togethe r – what a concept, huh! In this process, we become so appreciative and grateful for God’s will that we want our will to work togethe r with His. We relinquish our resistance and receive every moment as a potential to play out God’s will, which is the gift of Grace.
I have faithfully read all of your gratitude for grace blogs. You are very fortunate to have the time and energy to pursue this special goal.
ReplyDeleteMy vision of grace are snapshots along the way, sometimes it is just a buoy clear out in the ocean that I have no chance of reaching. In the everyday world of working and the weekends of resting and recovering from the past week and preparing for another week, grace is elusive. I feel I have a good relationship with God, my prayers in the morning, my prayers at bedtime, give me the focus to cope. You may remember when you were working that time is precious and never used as it should be. Day to day survival is all I can think about, mind chatter, dreams that are distorted and sometimes frightening. My old age: good day, bad day, is taking over. On a good day I can maybe get a few things done, never as many as I want to, on a bad day, it is mostly sleeping and worrying. Patience is only a coping method. Living alone with little outside activity not involved with work, leaves me graceless. There are many years before I can retire and health may get in the way, back to the survival lifestyle. All roads seem long and full of possible perils.
I envy you the chance to explore grace in your life. I wish you only the best.
Dear Irving, Thank you very much for your honest and open comments. Thank you, also, for your faithful reading of my With Gratitude for Grace blog.
ReplyDeleteYes, I am very fortunate to have the time at this point in my life to write about God’s Grace. My writings started over a decade ago when I was in-between jobs – later, a new job and going back to school got in the way, so I understand how life’s commitments get in the way of being with God. In today’s world, we are inundated to the point of over-stimulation with communications of all kinds. For me, it causes such a flurry in my head, one way I know I can connect with God is to take a walk in His nature – I find it takes all the craziness away.
I understand when you say your “vision of grace” consists of “snapshots along the way” and I really appreciate the metaphor you shared about grace being a “buoy clear out in the ocean….” Often our metaphors relay our inner-most feelings. So, possibly, this can be an opportunity for gratitude – you do have “snapshots along the way” and while it may feel like a “buoy clear out in the ocean,” you will reach it. Something very important about God’s Grace is that once we recognize what we are missing and once we acknowledge it to Him, He brings it to us.
I do understand how hard it is to work a full week at this stage in life and then to savor the few moments on the weekend, in between all the chores, to recoup and prepare ourselves for the upcoming week. It sounds like the constancy of your prayers connects you and helps you to cope with this. This is another opportunity for gratitude, to be able to connect through your prayers. I do believe strongly that gratitude begets Grace which begets even more gratitude.
The hard part about life is to “hang in” during the toughest times. It sounds like you may be at a place in life that is overwhelming, with a future that seems somewhat perilous. That can be very unsettling. However, now may be a perfect time to accept those unsettling feelings, turn them over to God and take time for reflection. Remember the times when sweetness came into your life. Thank God for every one of these moments, the mix of both sweetness and bitterness. We very often wouldn’t know the delicate taste of sweetness without knowing the bite of bitterness we’ve experienced. I also know that prayer, fervent prayer, brings God closer to us. He already knows how we feel – our step is to ask Him for help.
Lastly, remember this passage in the Bible: “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:39) Because of our humanity, we get “hooked” into the chaos of life and fear arises. What God wants us to understand is that He is always there, even when our head is spinning with life’s issues. When we begin to relinquish the fear of our earthly life and realize everything is possible when we allow God to guide us, we then see the invisible hands that come into play to lead us to a more peaceful life, which is Grace.
Once again, I thank you for your heartfelt input and I also thank you for your kind wishes. My wish for you is that God’s hands gently release the unsettling feelings of worry and bring you peace and serenity.