Guest Devotion. A Life of Grace

I’m going to start requesting devotions from family members, friends and people who have touched my life through Jesus Christ. This devotion was written by a family member who lives in Tennessee.

A Life of Grace

“For by grace are ye saved by faith, that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works,  lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2: 8-9

Grace, grace, God’s grace….I believe my life has been a journey of grace and I am so grateful that my heavenly Father, my redeemer, my sustainer, continues to hold me in His loving and graceful hands.

I would like to take this opportunity to share “My Story” my testimony as God has laid this on my heart.

I was raised in a loving family. We went to church each Sunday morning. As a young teen I helped teach Sunday School and worked in the Church nursery. Because I had infant twin nephews at home I was always the prime choice to be the family’s babysitter! I volunteered at the Masonic Home Nursing Home every day during the summer where I fed elderly patients and assisted the physical therapist and nurses. I was a “good” kid. Yet if you were to ask me if I was going to heaven when I died, I would reply, “I hope so, I think so, I am being good.”  I knew the hymns, I knew the prayers, but I did not know that Jesus died for ME.

Then came 1971 and the schools in my Florida county began the process of desegregation. My parents, not wanting me to be bussed to a school 15 miles away, enrolled me in a Christian School that a local Baptist Church had started. This was the beginning of my spiritual journey!

There, I reconnected with a friend I knew from elementary school. She was very involved with a Christian ministry, “West Coast Youth Ranch”, a ministry of Florida Bible College. She invited me to the weekly youth meetings. Between the Christian School and the youth ranch, I heard over and over that Jesus died for ME. That I was a sinner in need of a Savior.  I knew Jesus died on the cross, but I did not know He did it for ME…wow!  This was huge. I became so familiar with John 3:16: 

“For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall have everlasting life”  

I realized I was a ‘whosoever’.  I realized that going to heaven was by nothing I could do…Jesus paid it ALL!  By believing and trusting Him for what He did was the picture of grace.

During my teen years I was a sharp young girl…I immersed myself in God’s word and His people. I went to Bible College when I graduated from high school.

Yet, as happens to many. Through circumstances, satan began to lure me away from God. It doesn’t happen overnight, it is a slow and subtle process shrouded by his lies. That’s how he works. We rationalize and begin to focus on our human desires. But satan convinces us we are justified. I found myself in unholy places…

I say that I was a prodigal daughter!  For many years, though I knew the truth, my eyes were not focused on God, yet His loving and graceful eyes NEVER left me. He continued to work the plan He had for my life, orchestrating the dance that would one day return to Him. 

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6

One of the things I have learned is that nothing will sabotage the plan God has for your life. God is faithful even when we are not…the enemy is busy, but the Father is faithful!

It is amazing how God works (that’s another story)!!

Suffice to say, through more circumstances, I was humbled and broken and realized my sin and need to get my life back to where I knew it needed to be. 

Little by little and sometimes big, God showed Himself to me daily. His grace abounded. The prodigal daughter returned with a vigor, a zeal and a brokenness. 

Though I had experienced years of going about my own way, God continued to groom me and fashion me for His will.

I praise Him that I have been able to serve Him on the mission field in Africa and beyond, numerous times; teach Sunday School, organize women’s  prayer groups, speak to groups and share the gospel. 

I have been able to experience the Father in a deeper way because I realize how much I am forgiven and how graceful and faithful He is. 

At times I have been tried by fire, yet I thank God for these times as it allows me to be able to connect with others and understand their plight. I praise Him for the valley’s for it has been there that my faith has grown, my knees became calloused and my heart softer. It is there that I call for my personal revival and continue to accept His grace.

I want to serve my Lord and seek His face all the days of my life…my life is all about His grace!

Wherever you may be in your life…God loves you, has a plan for you and is calling out to you. Receive Him.  

“The thief (satan) cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I (Jesus) am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” 

John 10:10

My life verse: “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. 

Acts 20:24