The Lord’s insight. Grace is a reminder that the problems you have do not have to have your life.
2 Corinthians 12:9: “And He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you. For My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
I was sitting one day minding my own business when this question or challenge came to my mind. What would my life be like if I lived without grace? Well, I realized I already lived way too much without acknowledging the Grace of God.
In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul had a similar conversation within himself. Paul had a problem he couldn’t solve so he asked the Lord to fix it. The Lord didn’t fix the problem the way Paul wanted. Instead, He told Paul “My grace is sufficient for you to deal with this problem.”
Sometimes the fix to what challenges us is to learn to live with so we can deal with what challenges us. When I’m coaching people, especially those who are anxious or who are controlling, I share a simple way for them to overcome what has overcome them. It is a way of living that simplifies your life and allows you to move forward rather than to be pushed back.
I tell them this:
- There are things in life we can control – control those things.
- There are things in life we can impact – impact those things.
- There are things in life we can influence – influence those things.
- Then there are things outside of those three things – leave those things alone.
This works in our secular lives. But it still lacks the absolute power to fix problems. It cannot fix what ultimately cannot be fixed. Only the Lord can do that. When we allow our spiritual lives to lead our carnal lives, we open a way to receive and understand the power of the Grace of God.
In November 1862 a lady names Julia Ward Howe wrote the song “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” She and her husband were in Washington DC visiting when they saw the Union Troops singing a battle hymn as they readied to go to a battle knowing that many of them would be killed. Some of the words of the hymn say:
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.
These soldiers were saying, if it be the case, we will gladly give our lives to save the lives of others. So, we will march out and control the things we can control. We will impact all that we can impact. We will influence what we can influence. And all else we will leave to the power of the Lord and by His grace we shall not be overcome.
But for the grace of God is a gospel song written by a man name Bill Gaither. He is quoted as saying “But for the grace of God, there I would be. The beggar on the street, the homeless and the weak, the sick and the needy could each be me, but for the Grace of God.
There are things in life we can control but give control of your life to the Lord. There are things we can impact, but let the Lord impact your life. There are things in life we can influence but let the Lord influence your life. Then there are things we can do nothing about. Let the Grace of God do for you what you cannot do.
But for His grace there you would be. But by His grace, here is where you are.
Live a Delivered Life.
