Grace in the Desert

The desert seems like an improbable place to find God's grace, but it's there. Consider how when we stubbornly wander, wasting time and energy, He never leaves us.  He remains patient (40 years with the Israelites!) and watches us scrupulously.  He waits for us to look to Him for help.  Once we do, the floodgates of grace open wide.  It's the moment He's been waiting for.  The opportunity has been there all along but we miss it thinking, "I can handle this on my own."  Continue wandering in the desert or receive His grace?

Of course the desert I'm talking about is spiritual, not sandy.  Tragically, we tend to wander in this spiritual Sahara way too long.  This parched land takes on the form of "working" to be right with God.  It's a trap that only leads to spiritual dryness.  Our relationship with God is not based on works.  The "work" has already been done on the cross.  When we try to work for position with God we are rejecting His free gift of grace.  It's simple: rejecting God's grace = rejecting Christ's sacrifice.

A good test to determine if you accept God's grace is whether you feel any guilt doing so.  True acceptance of grace means there are no strings attached.  There is no guilt in grace.  Accepting grace means we never have to work our way back to God when we drift away.  Yes, repentance is necessary, but this should not be confused with work.  The exact moment we recognize our backslidden state we have the opportunity to accept His grace freely.  His grace and our repentance are simultaneous.  We don't have to pray harder.  We don't have to play catch-up with our Bible reading.  We don't have to ... etc, etc.  Stop!  Take a deep breath...receive His grace.  Bask in it.  Enjoy it.

Ultimately it is a choice.  Will you chose to continue wandering in the desert or will you choose to receive His grace?

"Father, forgive us for trying to earn your grace.  There is nothing we can do that compares with the finished work of the cross." 

GrantJ