It was as faint as a whisper, but it was there and I heard it clearly. Her voice as gentle as a caress. She didn’t know I was listening to her sing with the radio, but that day as we drove she didn’t pay attention to the fear that usually accompanies everything she does. She just sang to Jesus, with all her heart, with all her joy, with all her longing for more of Him. Simply praising God.

And then she saw my tears and stopped singing to look closely at her momma. Trying to piece together this fragile place we both find ourselves stooping to reach. A place where worship heals broken hearts and resurrects grace in buckets of praise so that we can breathe deep and keep moving on. Music has always been a release for her. Time spent listening to positive words ushering in hope and wonder, grasping for the good in the midst of the hard, and slowly reclaiming the lost moments that hardship and illness and depression have left cracked in her space.

And the cracks she’s felt are like grooves in my soul. Not because I own them as my own, ok…sometimes I do, but because I have forged a path of prayer over and over and over. My head knows the Words He has given us, I know them… I quote them…I write them…I pray them. But sometimes my heart forgets to believe them. I let the trouble heap up stones on that prayer path to the throne of grace and forget to watch where I am going, tripping here and there as I go.

And this walk I take becomes a walk of begging and pleading instead of a walk of worship. A walk of reminding God what He said instead of petitioning grace with the arsenal of hope that His Word provides for mercy-seekers and grace-dwellers.

Let therefore come boldly unto the throne of Grace, that we may obtain mercy and well-timed help in our time of need. – Hebrews 4:16

A gentle refrain broke over my soul that day, much like I imagine the latter rain Joel 2:23 talks about is supposed to fall on our spirits. It was a filling kind of washing that swept my heart right into the embrace of the Father who is more than capable to carry our loved ones in the strong solid grip of His grace.

Later I ran right into some Red-Letter Words that the Savior spilled over His disciples right after he told Judas to go do what he needed to do and got real with Peter about the things he would confess repeatedly in the days to come. And friends, the whole authenticity of the Word speaking words that are blood-red rich, anointed, and life-giving, surely the exact medicine our anemic souls need, never ceases to inspire wonder and awe.

Because His Word is the antidote to our worry. His words are existentially equal to our being right there in the place of Judas and Peter and the others who heard life spoken and witnessed grace walk in the form of Jesus.

Because Hebrews 13:8 confirms the constancy of Christ is true, the real-life moments of yesterday are applicable to the hard-life living today. And we are the witnesses, like those who followed Him close on this earth, sometimes faithless but reformed and solid like a rock, sometimes betraying the very things we know are true but grace teaches us repentance is our way back. And each lesson is a reminder for all the times that we get grace-amnesia for ourselves and for others, but mostly a vitamin of hope that reminds us to keep on going.

Do not let your heart be troubled. Believe [confidently] in God and trust in Him, [have faith, hold on to it, rely on it, keep going and] Believe also in Me. – Jesus. {John14:1}

Remember those red-letter words pilgrim.

Remember that you have an intercessor who has gone before you on the dust-filled earth journey and is occupying the heavenly war-room on your behalf.  Because Jesus compels us to look close at the purpose of walking in worship right in the midst of our living when He challenges us with His Word to look straight into the face of difficulty and confront it with truth.

Believe In God.
Don’t give so much power to the issue that is breaking you. Let the facts be the facts in your situation but let the truth resonate deep in your soul.

Have faith.
Hold on to your faith friends, it can be fleeting at times when our hearts are breaking and we are wondering what we signed up for in this journey of life that we don’t understand.

Rely On God.
It is that simple. Since we can trust Him we can also rely on Him. It is because we believe that hope can prevail in the darkest and the hardest of living. Founded on the unseen substance of all we hope for makes mustard-seed faith is possible.

Trust God.
We can trust God, truly. Even when it feels like our messy days are never going to make sense, His Word does. His way does. His Truth does.

Those words in John 14 are leading us to see the hope of later words in that same chapter, where Jesus tells us He is the way, the truth and the life. (vs 16) And then He reminds us that what He leaves us, is the remnant of what He came to do… bring peace.(vs 23)

The peace He leaves us is the residue of the grace he came in hope to give. It is His peace that steals the darkness and bathes us in light. It is His peace which is left as a gift to overcome the trouble we run into. We are reminded not to let fear rob what is ours, not to give permission to trouble as an agitator and intimidator of gospel purpose we are called to live out.

We are created to thrive in every season of our living, with God. We are called to walk in worship. We should be singing despite what we see because He is unchanging and our situations change frequently.

What if you change your perspective on the broken road you are walking?

What if you make it a song of praise instead?

What if we believed that He will continue what He started in us?

I am convinced of this thing… he who has begun a good work in you will continue to perfect and complete it until the day of Christ. – Phil. 1:6

Listening to my daughter that day was a pure unhindered #gracemoment. Her voice was like manna from heaven that my starving soul had no idea it needed. Because the hard things that we’ve known were draining the well of my heart and her simple worship, exquisitely authentic worship, was the walk she is choosing to follow.

2018 is already 31 days down… January is marked complete in our calendar. February finds us still looking for more, still seeking the changes that will make it better. Yet, perhaps the answer lies in the walking journey we are taking. Perhaps it is about authentic worship, authentic faith, authentic prayer. Perhaps we are missing the simplicity of choosing to walk out our lives as a remnant of worship at all times?

What if we give every moment over the absolutely real God who sees us and make faith and praise non-negotiables in our choosing?

The more we study His Word for our way, the more we can let every single moment be an assignment of grace.

Choose to praise. Walk in Worship. Live in Grace.

Praying today that His joy will be your strength, His name will be your foundation, His Word will be your currency and His Spirit will be your guide.

Photo Credit: The beautiful image of my youngest daughter was captured by my talented sister-in-law Jasmina @ Special Moments Photography .

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.

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