Experiencing The Reality of Grace

I am always recommending and encouraging you to cultivate your relationship with your Father; to spend time in prayer and worship; to prepare your heart to face him and to meet him. In fact, as I have explained many times, that is the purpose of these daily messages. However, the reality is that you have to lay the groundwork now, and allow your relationship with Him to grow. I say that because when a crisis strikes, you most certainly won't have time to build yourself up in prayer and faith. However, those who have already been spending times in prayer and fellowshipping with Jesus, are always prepared for whatever comes.

Several years ago, I was sharing how we need to think of our Lord’s Grace, as being His power to do, what we do not have the ability to do. It is His strength, when we are our weakest; His wisdom when we have no direction or light on our path. In other words, whatever our need is, His Grace will provide.

Suddenly a couple in this small group where I was sharing this message, revealed a major crisis in their family. We had never about this even, until they felt safe and were able to bare their soul with us. They explained that when they had lived in another state, their 24-year-old daughter had been out with a friend, when both women were kidnapped. They later found their bodies, and they had been murdered in a pretty grisly fashion and tossed in a city dump. How sad and disgusting.

As you can imagine, the couple was in shock. Their friends and neighbors would come to them and say, “How could any parent survive this kind of tragedy?” Yet, within an hour, the Holy Spirit had come to them and brought supernatural comfort. They received a peace they had never imagined would be possible. Of course, in the midst of those painful days after the discovery of the bodies, they would ask their Father why. There is no shame or error in that. Just because you know your Father is good, and everything will work out for the good . . . you can still ask Him about the particular situation you are dealing with. However, during the whole time they were grieving, they experienced divine rest and peace. Does that make any sense? Well, not to our natural minds, of course not. But our spirit will fully understand this.

This couple explained that no one could understand their calmness, but they explained that had been prepared for their moment of crisis. They had known all along that their Father would never allow anything to happen to them without an underlying purpose, so when the terrible news came, they didn’t fall apart.

I had mentioned before how, when Patrice was told she had colon cancer, we did not panic and fall apart. We simply looked at the Doctor and said, “So, what do you recommend for the treatment?” The Doctor didn’t understand our reaction. In fact, she tried to explain the seriousness of this disease. We assured her that we understood. My wife had lost a sister and several family members to cancer, so she was very much aware. But we knew our Father would not desert us in our time of need, and would see us through.

Regarding those parents I told you about, who had lost their daughter, explained that they, and their surviving children, began praying for the killer. Now can you understand that? Does that make sense? The people in their town couldn’t accept it. However, that godly couple, the parents who had lost their daughter, spoke and taught them about their Lord’s ability to provide strength, no matter what they may face. The townspeople recognized their strength as coming only from Jesus. Soon they were saying of the couple, “They’re a miracle. Those are true Jesus people.”

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging” (Psalm 46:1-3).

Until you are able to spend time with your Father; until you are able to cast of your cares and concerns into His custody and allow Him to work them out, that Psalm is nothing but sweet sounding words—but mean absolutely nothing to you. I mean, everyone will quote Psalm 23: "The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul . . . “ ‘blah, blah, blah . . .’ Makes you feel good for a moment, but means absolutely nuthin . . .

However, once you fall in love with your Lord; once you know your Father’s heart and experience the presence of His Holy Spirit, those words become spirit and life to you! They can lift up and cause you to soar like a eagle on the winds!

Nickolas