Thursday, September 4, 2008

Mercy and Grace

It's been a week since I last posted and oh what a week it's been. I love Thankful Thursdays, because it makes me stop and focus on God's amazing-ness.

This week I am thankful for God's mercy on me that is new each and everyday. And for His patience with me that allows me to grow a little more everyday.


The faithful love of the Lord never ends!

His mercies never cease.

Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.

I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”

The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him.

So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.


Lamentations 3:22-26


Each day this week I have needed His mercy and forgiveness for allowing myself to get overwhelmed or impatient or grumpy in my situation. And the fact that we have a "situation" is not an excuse! The Bible instructs me to wait quietly.....not child-like.

Today I was thinking, wouldn't it be nice if I could be one of those classy women who was the epitomy of "grace under pressure." You know the one -- smart suit, smooth, flawless hair, peaceful smile and not a feather ruffled even though her world is crashing down around her.

Ernest Hemingway said, "Courage is grace under pressure." When the time comes to face a problem, I want to appear graceful, but the Lord kept whispering to me today to lean into His grace instead of being concerned with my appearance.

I kept wondering, what does that mean? I lean upon the Lord all the time, but what would it mean to draw strength from His grace? So I looked up these definitions (gotta love Wikipedia):

* Grace is enabling power sufficient for progression.

* Grace divine is an indispensable gift from God for development, improvement, and character expansion.

* Without God's grace, there are certain limitations, weaknesses, flaws, impurities, and faults (i.e. carnality) humankind cannot overcome. Therefore, it is necessary to increase in God's grace for added perfection, completeness, and flawlessness.

Well, if complaining, impatience and grumpiness aren't considered for "development, improvement and character expansion" I don't know what is. It's clear that God was asking me to tap into His grace so I could grow up a little.

Seeing as it was just getting meaty, I decided to look up the Greek meaning of the word for grace, charis. And it seemed to tie up my thanks today for God's mercy and His call for me to grace in a concise little package.

Grace (charis) - That which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness (....sounds like that courageous woman of grace I referred to earlier). Also favour of the merciful kindness by which God turns us to Christ and keeps, strengthens and increases us in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles us to the exercise of the Christian virtues (sounds like my Thursday thanks).


** I know many of you are waiting on an update regarding our family's health, but I need some time to let this soak into my heart a little longer. We still need your prayers! Seeing as how we are on a family vacation, I will write to you the next chance I get to sneak away to our laptop. **

Blessings,



Stop by and visit Iris for more words of thanks....

2 comments:

Sunny Shell said...

Keeping you in my prayers sister...ALL of you! :-)

Such a privilege to do so!

Much love in our faithful Savior, Who suffers long with us,

Sunny

P.S. You'll get through this...you're already doing well by praising God in the midst of your storm in giving Him thanks! :-)

Denise said...

Prayers are ascending for your family.