More Grace

James 4:4-10

Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says,"God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

He Giveth More Grace

Text: Annie Johnson Flint

Music: Hubert Mitchell

He giveth more grace when the burden grows greater;

He sendeth more strength when the labors increase.

To added affliction He addeth His mercy;

To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.

His love has no limit;

His grace has no measure;

His pow'r has no boundary known unto men.

For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,

He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,

When our strength has failed, ere the day is half done,

When we reach the end of our hoarded resources,

Our Father's full giving is only begun.

His love has no limit;

His grace has no measure;

His pow'r has no boundary known unto men.

For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,

He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!

This is not a season of trials for us, though we have known seasons of trials varied in length and depth. This is a season of waiting, and resting, and looking ahead. In a sermon recently, we all (including the children) were challenged to learn to wait well. This has meant much for our family in this season where we desire to be purposeful and enjoy God's multiplied peace in our home. Waiting purposefully and quietly on the Lord in this new place has kept us rather "busy" and has left me with fewer minutes for writing, but many, many more moments to reflect on our God's infinite riches in Jesus.

This has been a season of learning along with our children, of seeking grace in humility, and drawing near to God. It is a good season and not at all what I imagined - or predicted or promised our children - our summer would be like. I imagined (and unknowingly promised our children) a summer living in our town home, visiting parks every day to get some green space, coordinating play-dates with all their sweet friends at our park outings, numerous trips to the grandpas & grandmas at the lake and the farm, several camping trips to get out of the "city", and a life of being generally on the go. I did not anticipate moving, Great Grandma's funeral, a government shut down of the state parks, lice, poison ivy, or pink eye. Those were all situational events, and while they have limited our ability to do "playdates", outings, and traveling as I imagined, they have really been in the peripheral while God has been doing something big on the main stage of our hearts. Instead we have slowed down again, finding incredible joy, peace, and grace available to us without being on the go. In the light of God's great gift of grace to us, a quiet contentment has overshadowed any former plans for this season and we have submitted ourselves to God for His good purpose. It just looks different than we imagined daily - and there is a quiet joy in trusting in God's Sovereignty when our calculated plans are changed.