Walking the LineShembull

We must place ourselves entirely in God’s hands and rely upon His grace to live the true life. —Johnny Cash Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need . —Hebrews 4:16 NIV Grace is a pocketknife word; it is multifunctional. It communicates a sense of elegance or rhythmic style (“She has the grace of a ballerina”). It can refer to polite courteousness (“He had the grace to apologize before he left”). It can even be a synonym for prayer (“Don’t forget to say grace before you eat”). However, the sense in which Johnny Cash and the writer of Hebrews use the word is much more profound. Grace, in this context, refers to the undeserved gifts that God showers on us. Sometimes His grace is unmistakable and life-altering. Often, however, His grace is so constant and pervasive that it becomes part of the fabric of our lives. And if we’re not careful, we may start to take it for granted. In his quote, Johnny Cash speaks of being mindful—not just of grace but also of our responsibility to place ourselves in God’s hands and live a life that embraces His truth. When we place ourselves entirely in God’s hands, we stop relying on our own strength and wisdom. We acknowledge the superiority of God’s plan for us. We spend more time listening in prayer than we do making requests. We stay attuned to the Holy Spirit’s work in our conscience. Hardest of all, we give God those little pieces of ourselves that we desperately want to hold back—the habit we can’t quite kick, the grudge we refuse to let go of, the ambition that gets us into trouble. We surrender those things to our heavenly Father. Relying on God’s grace requires us to understand how God works. His grace can take on many forms when filtered through people’s circumstances. When the Israelites suffered from dehydration and thirst on their journey through the wilderness, God’s grace looked like water flowing from a rock in the middle of the desert. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced their crucible, God didn’t make His grace known until they were in the midst of the fire. When Paul was struggling with what he called a “thorn” in his “flesh,” God showed His grace not by removing the thorn but by helping Paul see how that thorn made him a more effective minister for Christ. The more we study God’s Word and talk to His people about evidence of His grace in their lives, the better equipped we’ll be to rely on His grace in our lives. The challenge of living a true life is that it may not be the life we envision for ourselves. It may fall short of our expectations for wealth, fame, and prestige. That’s when we must confidently approach the throne of God to ask our heavenly Father to help us embrace the life He has mapped out for us. After all, the reward of a true life is the kind of fulfillment that no other life can offer. Father, Your grace is truly amazing to me. Thank You for the undeserved gifts You shower on me. Give me the courage to place myself entirely in Your hands, the awareness to recognize Your grace in my life, and the discernment to live in a way that is true. In Jesus’ name. Amen.