Good morning…
I snapped a photo of these handwritten words from inside my friend’s birthday card. “God will take you where you haven’t intended to go in order to produce in you what you could not achieve on your own. It’s uncomfortable, but it’s GRACE.”
Then, she read to us wisdom from a devotional book she loves.
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New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp, March 8
Yes, your life is messy and hard, but that’s not a failure of the plan; it is the plan. It’s God working to complete what he’s begun in you.
…You are tempted to think that because you’re God’s child, your life should be easier, more predictable, and definitely more comfortable. But that’s not what the Bible teaches. Instead, it reveals that struggles are part of God’s plan for you.
…I think there are times for many of us when we cry out for God’s grace and we get it – but not the grace that we’re looking for. We want the grace of relief or release. We get those in little pieces, but largely they are yet to come. What we all really need right now is the grace of transformation.
…We all need to teach and encourage one another with the theology of uncomfortable grace, because on this side of eternity, God’s grace often comes to us in uncomfortable forms. It may not be what you want, but it is precisely what you need. God is faithful; he will use the brokenness of the world that is your present address to complete the loving work of personal transformation that he has begun. Now, that’s grace!
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…then he told me, My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become (2 Corinthians 12:8-10, MSG).
Yes, your life is messy and hard, but that’s not a failure of the plan; it is the plan. It’s God working to complete what he’s begun in you. I am sure that the good work God began in you will continue until he completes it on the day when Jesus Christ comes again (Philippians 1:6, ERV).
Now, that’s uncomfortable grace!
…Sue…
