Reminded of Blessing, Reoriented to Grace

It’s so easy to forget. It’s so easy to slip back into old habits, into old ruts. Over and over and over, God told the Israelites to REMEMBER. To remember the wonders He had done in setting them free. To remember His provision for them again and again.

It is the same today—it is the same in my life. God has proven His faithfulness so many times, in so many ways, and yet so often I find myself sliding back into the mentality that I have to take care of myself. Fretting about the future. Worried that God won’t come through.

But the amazing thing is that God has ALREADY filled my MOST ULTIMATE need. OUR deepest need! Because, obviously, this isn’t just about me. From eternity past, God worked each piece of His plan, leading up to the pinnacle moment of earthly history: the coming of God’s Son in flesh, His sacrificial death, His victorious resurrection. It is all for His glory—and yet amazingly it is simultaneously for our blessing, that we may be redeemed.

SO THAT we may then live our lives to the glory of our King, serving for His sake, and that one day we may enjoy Him fully FOREVER. Because HE IS AWESOME.

It is so amazing, so beautiful, SO PERFECT!

I know many of you who are likely to read this share this great knowledge with me. And yet, as I said earlier, we so easily forget. We rush from here to there, lost in the hustle and the bustle—gazing so hard at the flurry of the snow globe that we miss the bigger picture. The better, the more beautiful picture.

It happened to me yesterday morning. As I got up and started getting ready for church, I was consumed with worry, fretting over the financial needs and deadlines looming. I needed $2,000 by Dec. 1 to pay for my plane ticket, and my NHU account had less than $500. I was wracking my brain trying to figure out what I could do to make it work. And yes, I tried to pray and remind myself to trust God for this too—after all, He’s the one who has called me to Uganda, so He will provide—but my mind still went around and around trying to logically figure it out.

I get to church, and within 30 minutes the amount of donations I had received tripled. I was overwhelmed. But I’m sad to admit to you that it was only after that happened that I woke up to how I had been acting. Our worship service focused even more than usual on Christ’s redeeming work, and I found myself ashamed of my morning behavior. I had been so focused on how things didn’t seem to be working out on my timeline. And I had failed to remember how undeservingly blessed I am simply to be a member of God’s family.

I’m thankful that God’s call through the worship service reoriented me back to what matters most. I’m also grateful for His faithful and generous servants who are coming forward to partner with me. But most of all, I am hopeful that I will remember the lesson of that Sunday morning. I pray that I’ll be focused on the truth of God’s provision, rather than on what I don’t have. And I am so blessed by my Savior’s love. Amen.