She smiled, as she spoke, spilling strength and wonder with every praise-filled testimony. Words that shattered my heart as I listened to the report of her love who is hanging between the temporal and eternity…waiting, trusting, praying. And she oozed faith with each declaration. Some of the hardest words she could utter, full of longing for Christ, right in the middle of her trial.
I was fully humbled.
I walked through that door knowing I would find a strong sort of faith before me, the kind that spills out in the shaking and the kind that shows that one has been spending time with the Savior. I knew that she would share of the miracles she has seen, the way He has met her and provided in the midst of her hardest journey.
I knew that I would find myself in awe of the power of one who chooses Christ as her portion and come away changed for the fellowship. However, I wasn’t prepared for the way that her words would reflect His and convict my soul so deeply. But that is exactly the kind of change we need, friends.
“You are my portion, O Lord, I have promised to keep your words.” – Psalm 119:57
The discussion centered around those honor filled words of justice, mercy, and humility. Micah’s decree to those who walk with God. (Micah 6:8) And we described the way to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly in this life. All I could think of was how much I wanted to be close to Jesus like this beautiful daughter of the King. Then she asked me to define grace.
Immediately, my trained definition poured out of my lips…. undeserved favor.
She smiled as if she knew a secret I had not yet heard.
There was a hovering pause that only one who has spent time in the presence of Peace in a storm, and walked with the One who strides across the Ocean of Grace can know. With a heavenly confidence in the moment that instills eternity, because He created every visible piece of the known and made the choice to know the broken for the purpose of redemption, my heart resonated with hers in this connecting.
Defining God’s grace together let me in to her world; it welcomed me into her faith-walk.
In that moment I knew the way of grace walking that we are called to choose together was all about the redeeming that refines while we wait in His goodness. She radiated a beauty that reflected His immense love for her. She personified grace in the smile of hope that she offered and the lesson in humility that spilled out of her need and her emptiness.
And I found myself longing with her, for the presence of the Father. For the arms of the Holy One to wrap close and lift up from the breaking that seems to litter the pathway, and for a realization of all the little things that get in the way are just not that important.
Desperation brings us to the breaking place.
I have been where she was, before. A place of desperation and a point of retreat from everything that is unnecessary. I have witnessed the escape from all that pulls on the soul into the only refuge that can fill a breaking heart’s void. Our circumstances were not the same, but the despair was familiar.
It struck me how much I could easily forget. And I wonder if that is a grace, too?
Erasing the pain and removing the sting of the difficult from our memories didn’t bother me. It was forgetting the hunger that only He can satiate in our souls, that peace that reigns when the storm rages and our world is sinking. I saw it in her eyes, heard it in her voice, and felt it in her smile.
This friend who I have been praying for, eagerly waiting to see so I could get a report…so I could get marching orders… so I could link arms and hold close… reminded me of the power of stepping out into the ocean of grace so I could walk with God on the water.
Not only is He our portion and His Words sustain us when we are weary, He is our refreshment and the replenishment our soul requires.
Because He is… we can hope in the impossible, we can trust when all we see is chaos, we can believe when everything seems lost, and we can expect Him to show up.
“For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.” -Jeremiah 31:25
I have been resting in this 31st chapter of Jeremiah this week, finding myself reading and wading close in the truths that are present here. I have been seeking His fullness and His answer for the burdens that have surfaced as we live out our days. The busy chaos of a schedule full of new and different, good and changing, has made the flow a little unfamiliar. Sometimes that makes it hard to adjust and we forget to look for the beauty in the midst of the traveling.
And a lot of times we forget how to look for grace as we go.
Sometimes this journey makes me bone-tired and weary. Perhaps you are there too, waiting for a manifestation of His mercy in the unanswered prayers, or some difficult situations you are navigating right now. Maybe you are trusting God with the outcome but have not fully trusted Him with the journey. Friend, can I be honest and say that was my confession today?
God knew I needed a gentle reminder of the power of praise and of taking His portion as my inheritance and my hope. He knew I needed to be reminded that my response is to run to Him and not to react to the moments that wear me down.
He knew that the way to my heart to was to ask me to define the truth He wrote there and to lead me to see that He is always always always the best part of my choosing.
Are you finding yourself tired and weary, breaking from the weight of a burden you are carrying?
Are you empty of hope and spilling out everything but grace?
Define those grace moments in your journey today; record them so you don’t forget.
Spill out hope in the prayer of your heart. Soak up His goodness as you step into His embrace. Seek Him as the portion to replenish your weary soul.
I had to get real with a trusted heart tonight and reveal that my own felt anemic and battle-worn. She didn’t have to fix it, she just listened. Then I remembered the way He brought me to the well of His love pouring out of a beautiful soul. Again, I was humbled by the way he meets us in our mess and loves us with His best.
Where are you defining grace moments and recording them in your journey friends?
IT’S YOUR TURN TO BE A GRACE COUNTER! SHARE YOUR GRACE MOMENT IN THE COMMENTS BELOW AND THEN COUNT GRACE WITH A FRIEND WITH COMMENT ON A BLOG OR TWO.
If you are a blogger, link up here with a post about finding grace moments in your life or one of your favorite inspiring and encouraging posts from this week. Share your thoughts in the comment section telling me about the #Grace Moments you experienced this week. *(only 1 post per link please)*
Take time to visit your neighbor next to you, and if you want visit a few more friends on the journey. We all need a little encouragement and affirmation as we travel together.
If you don’t have a blog, you can connect with me via my Journeys in Grace FB page by sharing a photo or a comment. Or you can join the party by sharing your images on Instagram with #Gracemoments hashtag.
Each week I will try visit as many of your amazing posts as I can.This is a safe place to sit and dwell in grace together, friends. I can’t wait to pour a cup of friendship with you and take in the grace moments you have to share. Don’t forget to leave a comment below, I love to hear from you.
“Maybe you are trusting God with the outcome but have not fully trusted Him with the journey.”
This is exactly me! But today I was able to encourage my brother today as he was going through a hard time with the encouraging words you always give, to remember those moments of grace in order to go through the hard times. For my brother, God did something awesome for him and it was something to hold onto in the future. He really truly is there working in us and He desires so much for us to lean on Him. He is so faithful with the grace He gives.
“Spill out hope in the prayer of your heart. Soak up His goodness as you step into His embrace. Seek Him as the portion to replenish your weary soul.”
Just wonderful – spill out, soak up, step in, seek Him. And in so doing, our souls are replenished. Thank you for sharing your words. They spoke to my heart tonight.
Blessings,
Joanne