Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Grace as a Warrior; Grace as a Watchman

Grace is a warrior.
Grace is a watchman.

It looks for weak areas and stands as a guard, as a fortifier. In a city with walls of iron it finds the disrepair, the broken down, the forgotten, and stations itself there.
It cannot be moved.
The weather does not move it.
The seasons do not change it.

I spent some time today reminiscing about the journey and the process God has brought me through, and marveling at the ways He prepared me for these days. Like flipping back through a book after you've already read so far, and getting the delight of seeing all the more clearly how everything was being woven together to prepare for this. Ah, process! The kindness of God. The goodness of God. In my early days with God (early 20's) He was moving powerfully in my life, and I found myself able to move mountains, but unable to open the mail and deal. with. it. I developed the discipline of reading my Bible and spending time intentionally seeking the Lord everyday, but I lacked other disciplines- like cleanliness/organization. I cried out for and was granted wisdom and was given treasure after treasure of insight and revelation, but I couldn't budget and was financially irresponsible. As I thought about the irony and pondered how it is that we can be so full in some areas and simultaneously so lacking in others, I thought of how much grace God showed me. He was so, I don't know.... not unnerved by it all. Not flustered. Not frustrated. Several times I was in tears, truly overwhelmed, to the point of crying out to Him one day "this isn't even good parenting! You have to let me feel the consequences! I knew better and did it anyway...every parenting book, even the best Christian ones, would tell you that you're enabling me! And yet I know you're perfect in all your ways. You're a good father, and you chose grace, you chose to protect me from the natural consequences". It blew my mind and wrecked my everything. That is grace my friends. If it doesn't knock you on your @$$, you're missing it. He knew the "why" behind the "what" because He sees my days and searches my heart in the innermost places. He knew what was in my toolbox and what wasn't. He knew when it would be the season to mature me in a specific area, and He covered me until that time in the way that you would hold a child with a disability to a different standard than a child without one. Because he knows me. Grace has wrecked me several times. It's flung the curtains open for the glory of God to break through. It's caused me to cry, to laugh, to praise, and to marvel. I think grace carries such an assumption of gentleness, but today I saw grace in a new way. Grace is a warrior. Grace is a watchman.

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