Grace

Posted on January 25, 2020 by

14 Comments

Grace is my one word for 2020. I previously mentioned this in a post on the Christians Read blog, but I haven’t talked about it here yet. If you want to read the original Christians Read post or learn more about choosing one word for the year, please click here.

Grace might sound like a nice, fluffy word. A word that brings comfort and serenity. This can be true. However, walking in Grace can be uncomfortable at times as well. Every single day I have had opportunities to choose grace, extend grace to those around me, or maybe even to myself. I am sorry to say I didn’t always succeed in this area. When we begin focusing on something like this, suddenly a multitude of learning opportunities will come our way. I have seen this happen many times in my life, as I’ve tried to become a better person. And each time I think that I could learn grace (or whatever it is I am trying to learn at the time) so much better and quicker and easier if I didn’t have to deal with difficulties. LOL. But finally I am starting to realize that’s not how it works.

One of my dogs really loves to eat. If we feed him past his normal meal time, he looks stressed. So I will tell him, “Endurance builds character.” It’s easy for me to say this to him because I know my dog will be fine and he will get to eat. And the same is true for us as well – endurance builds character. How can we learn to overcome obstacles and trials if we only ever have to face good things in life? We can’t.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. – James 1:2-4 (NIV)

As I said, the word Grace has a comfy side too, which far outweighs the discomfort. Learning about the Grace of God brings a sense of peace. To know that we were sinners, yet Jesus died on the cross for us. His sacrifice for our sin is priceless. Something we can never repay. But how glorious it is to know what when we accepted Jesus, we were washed clean. We used to be filthy rags and became as white as snow. We have a loving Father who never gives up on us. He chases after us with a reckless love. He is relentless. I am so very thankful for the Grace of God.

For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. – John 1:16 (ESV)

I am only beginning to scratch the surface on learning about Grace. But I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for 2020. There is a TobyMac song called “Edge of My Seat.” They played a clip on the radio in which TobyMac explained the meaning behind this song. He said something to the effect of: There are two postures we can have. We can either sit back, passive, not caring much about what happens next. Or we can sit on the edge of our seat, waiting to see what awesome things God does next. I choose the latter. How about you?

(Listen to the song here: Edge of My Seat by TobyMac.)

© 2020 Bridget A. Thomas

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14 Comments on “Grace”

  3. You speak to your dog like we speak to our two cats. They probably don’t appreciate our wise parenting skills. Lol. Cats don’t really care about discipline either. Keeping them on a schedule is definitely more for our sakes than it is for them, but I’ve known people to overfeed their poor “furry babies” so it is for them as well. Good analogy of grace. Discipline is difficult, but when we weigh it against God’s grace we can appreciate it’s worth. That does help us to accept and appreciate His grace. ☺

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    • LOL. And our pets probably roll their eyes at the things we say and do. 😂 And I can’t say I blame them. Telling myself, “endurance builds character” would not make me feel better in the midst of adversity, But I am learning that God always has our best interests in mind, and we can face anything with Him by our sides. You are right, that helps us appreciate God’s grace that much more! 💜

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  4. I have to think about grace more often, especially in the context of extending it. Because I have God’s Grace there should be an ease with which I show it, especially to myself! Lovely “challenge” for this year.

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