Seeing Past Fear To Grace

…do not fear anything that is frightening.

 

1 Peter 3:6

 

 

 

Tell me you can't relate to this scenario…

 

You talk to someone who is in the middle of a storm and they testify to God's overwhelming sustaining grace. You marvel at their peace and joy that belies their suffering. But instead of praising God for His evident faithfulness, you begin to imagine yourself enduring their ordeal.

 

How would I cope?

I don't think I could handle it.

I hope it doesn't happen to me.

 

With high-definition clarity and color you see yourself in the midst of their ordeal... grace is nowhere to be found, and you are gripped by fear and dread.

So often we ignore the awesome displays of God's faithfulness to people in storms and instead imagine ourselves in their situation, minus the grace of God.

 

We would do well to heed Elisabeth Elliot's wise reminder that: There is no grace for our imaginations.

 

God is not waiting in the wings to help us through whatever horrible imaginary trouble we can conjure up today. But His goodness is stored up and will be abundantly poured out whenever we walk through a real storm.

 

Let's resolve that the next time we observe someone going through a storm, let's turn our imaginations to gaze on the marvelous, abundant, overwhelming and timely grace of God—the same grace that is be available to us daily.