Grace of God

Each year, a group of our songwriters get together for a songwriting retreat. The day before writing Grace of God, a group were out riding ATVs, and one of the song’s co-writers was in a serious accident. He broke his collarbone and required multiple stitches in his head. But it could have been so much worse. The opening lyrics of the song, “Hurt, broken, defeated, I was lost in the wreckage,” came straight out of this event. In the midst of this life-shaking moment, God showed up and moved in the way only he can. This was the same kind of deliverance and grace we read about in Psalm 34. When his people cried out, he heard their cry and delivered them from trouble.

While God’s deliverance and grace in our physical hardships are significant, they pale in comparison to the mercy and grace he demonstrated through his gift on the cross. He doesn’t just lift us out of our physical hardships; he lifts us out of our sin and spiritual brokenness. There’s nothing we can do to earn his grace. It's already been done. Jesus declared it finished! It is a gift, given out of his abounding love.

As Paul says to the people of Ephesus, we were dead in our sins. Dead people don’t have much to offer themselves. Our life in Christ comes solely through his grace. And we continue to live through his grace and mercy. His grace strengthens us. It transforms and empowers us. It sustains us. And even at our weakest, it is through our weakness that God’s sufficient power and grace abound.

We need to be willing to trust that he is sufficient. In our physical weakness, he is our strength. When we stumble in our walk with him, we have faith that his forgiveness is sufficient. His eyes are on the righteous. But it isn't our own righteousness that he sees, but his perfect Son, Jesus, in us.

Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for your all-sufficient grace. For the new life you gave me when I was dead in my sin. Thank you for the times you have brought physical deliverance to me and those I care about. (Take a moment to get specific with God.) Please continue to sustain me in your grace. And when I can’t see it, help me to see you at work in my life. Amen.