Grace, Grace, Grace

We all have fears. Some are rational and some are not. They can be debilitating. I know because when our children were little I had the fear that something bad was going to happen to my husband. That fear hung over me. If something happened to him, how would I be able to get through the sorrow and loss? That looming fear was crippling.

About that time I read The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom, the amazing story of how her family trusted God when the Nazis invaded their homeland of Holland during World War II. Corrie and her family felt led by the Lord to provide food and shelter to Jews who were hiding from the Nazis. They were at great personal risk because of their unselfish actions. There was always the possibility they would be caught, arrested and sent to concentration camps.

Corrie had learned from her father at an early age a truth about fearing that something bad would happen in the future. When she was a young girl she witnessed the death of a baby and was deeply touched by the reality of death. She had an impending fear that her father would die. From The Hiding Place,

Corrie’s father sat down beside her and gently said, “Corrie, when you and I go to Amsterdam, when do I give you the ticket?”  She sniffled a little, and replied, “Why, just before we get on the train.” “Exactly,” her father responded, “and our wise Father in heaven knows when we are going to need things too. Don’t run ahead of Him, Corrie. When the time comes that some of us will have to die, you will look into your heart and find the strength you need, just in time.”

God doesn’t give us His grace ahead of time. He gives it when we need it. This is the same truth set forth in the 23rd Psalm, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” God’s presence walks with us through our time of deep darkness. He pours out His comfort upon us in our time of need. We are not told to store up grace ahead of time so we will have some for our future crisis. We are promised that when we come to the time of deep darkness, He will be there.

One of the Hebrew names for God is El Olam. This name is usually translated Everlasting God. The root of the word “olam” holds the concept of the horizon. The image is when you walk out into the future as far as you can see and get to the horizon, God will be there. He is the God of the horizon. He will be there.
There is another subtle yet important truth we can glean from the 23rd Psalm. It does not say, “When I walk through the deep darkness, I will not fear because I am with You, Lord.” That would imply that we have to find God in our time of deep darkness. The Psalm says, “When I walk through the deep darkness, I will not fear because You are with me.” When the crisis comes, He will be with us.

We all tend to look ahead and worry about the what if’s of our future. We can get obsessed and debilitated churning with anxiety as we anticipate what could happen. Into these dark thoughts shines a shaft of pure light. God promises His presence and His grace when we need it. The reality of these promises calms our soul and counters our fears with His perfect peace, a peace that passes understanding. No matter what the future holds, God will be there. His grace is sufficient.

(And we just celebrated our 48th anniversary!)

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You Lord for the provision of your grace. Thank you that we can trust you with our future because no matter what happens, You will be there.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen