Of Christ's Grace.
Yesterday my day did not go as planned, of course. I had committed to running 5 miles in the morning and instead I needed to take my son in to have his ear infection looked at again (he wasn't wanting to eat). So the appt was at 10:15a when I would have been finishing up my run at the Y. So I took him to the doctor and told myself that I wasn't going to let this deter me from running today (since it had been a week). We got down to the Y at 11:30a and the sun was still out, but there was a huge dark cloud looming. I checked him into childcare and talked with a friend and told her I needed to get going or I wasn't going to beat the rain.
Well, just as I'm walking up to the door to go outside (I loathe running on a treadmill), it literally started hailing. And not a light amount, but sideways driving hail. I had put on my rain jacket just in case it did start raining. So I zipped up and moved forward. The hail turned into driving rain. The first mile I was running and trying to keep my rain hood on while my hands were freezing. I was determined to get this run in.
After a mile the rain started letting up. I could tuck my hand into my coat and start warming them up. Then the rain stopped and I could really focus on running. Then the sun started peaking through. At 3 miles the sun was out and I was hot and I took my jacket off. As I rounded to come back, it was a beautiful day. The wind was really strong and hard to run against, but I plugged along in the sun. I finished my 5 miles and was very thankful that I did it and it was done!
Today I was thinking about that run and it just struck me of what a beautiful picture that was of how God has been working in my life.
He has called me to trust Him and let go my issue of using food. At first it was horrible and overwhelming and I wanted to turn back, but I bundled up and moved forward. Day after day it became "easier". I felt His strength and rays of hope shined through and blessings of weight loss were given to me and today I feel the full force of His love and grace shining on me.
Not for anything that I have done.
I KNOW that I would not still be following a food plan without Him stepping in and taking over in my utter weakness. I KNOW that He has enveloped me with His grace as I make poor choices and feel my rebellion rising up and struggle to make the next right choice and not make the right choice and then struggle again to make a right choice. And then cry out to Him, "I can't do this. It is not within my power to do this." He gently says, "I know. But I have the power to do it for you. Just sit back and watch my work."
I'm so overwhelmed today by His Grace and Mercy and Love, that I can't keep silent.
I have done nothing to merit the strength He has given me to continue on this path. Today I feel like I don't deserve the pound I lost and I am SO humbled by His Grace and Mercy. I just can't express how this whole thing has not been me.
These are the scriptures that are coming to mind:
Proverbs 3:5-8 NIV
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
Isaiah 58:11 NLT
The Lord will guide you continually, watering your life when you are dry and keeping you healthy, too. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.
2 Corinthians 12: 7-10 The Message
Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn't get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan's angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn't think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and 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.
Lysa TerKeurst had a great blog on God keeping us humble the other day.
I want to continue to give Him all the glory - every day.
I have been reading this book, TrueFaced by Bill Thrall, Bruce McNicol and John S. Lynch.
It will challenge your thinking.
It could, set you free.
This is the product description:
TrueFaced draws a clear distinction between two very different underlying motives Christians sometimes operate under: our determination to please God or to trust Him.
Let me know if you read it, I would love to discuss it with you.
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