Meditation ~ Leaning Into Grace (You Can't Do It!)

When to splurge, when to save? When to try, when to let go? When to wait, when to move on? When to trust, when to part ways?

When we find it hard to manage our time, money, careers, relationships, dreams, goals, and fears, we are simply being honest with ourselves. The proper time and place for everything simply isn't obvious.

There is value in self-help pep talks, but at root we must make peace with the fact that we need God's guidance to navigate it all.

And yet, we spend much of our time bemoaning the presence of flaws, weaknesses, ignorance, and dissatisfaction. Yet, these things are a gift. They should keep us searching for union with something greater than ourselves. They are concrete proof that we are not God, and that we need God.

Thankfully, God is well aware of our deficiencies and wants to share His grace with us to compensate.

If we could navigate life well on our own, what need would we have for God?

If created things could completely satisfy us, what need would we have for God?

If we possessed every skill and virtue, what need would we have for God? (or others?)

If everything was "perfect," then we might imagine ourselves to be all-capable, but it would just be an illusion. There is simply no comparison between our own capabilities and God's. No human being discerns the total meaning of the past, present, and future. No human being can search and know hearts. No human being can save themselves. No human being has power over life and death. No human being could create and sustain the universe. We are so small in the vast scheme of things, yet we try to think and act as if we know it all and can do it all. Even more so, we vehemently resist the truth that we are sinners in need of grace.

Praise God for designing human nature such that, apart from His grace, it can not function.

Next time life corners us, may we say, "that's what grace is for!"