July 23, 2026 – Grace

JA – “I AM GOD YOUR SAVIOR. No matter what is happening in the world, you can be joyful in Me…. Ongoing effects of the Fall continue to make the world a dangerous, uncertain place. So the challenge before you each day is to be joyful in the midst of brokenness…. Pour your energies into enjoying My Presence and looking for the good that remains on the earth. Use your gifts to shine My Light into places where I have given you access. Have no fear of bad news, for I am able to bring good out of evil. Train your heart to be steadfast, trusting me Me, your Savior.” See Habakkuk 3:18, Romans 8:39, and Psalm 112:7.

As I was typing the words above from my calm, safe sunroom, I thought of a news story I saw yesterday of police trying to arrest a person who was apparently having a meltdown. Things like that, and worse, are going on all over our world that people (and not just police officers) have to face. How do they cope without having their own meltdowns? Do they read the Bible for perspective and fortification, or at least have devotion books or friends who offer understanding? It’s fairly easy to suggest how to face the issues in the world, but actually remembering that when faced with an issue is another thing. I find myself thinking of how people (me included at times) tend to say things like, “There was nothing left to do but pray.” The closer we grow to God and the more we learn about Him and our faith, the sooner we will go to prayer first even in the midst of trying situations. It’s amazing how fast the calm sets in when I say His Name, but even more so when I tell Him my troubles – and leave them with Him trusting Him to work things out while I, like a child, move on to whatever is next.

Prevail #204 – Jonah was tasked with facing difficult people (and situations) and Larson points out how God used his reluctance to obey to show His power to others (back then and still today): “In my book Fully Alive, I wrote about a word God gave to me in one of the greatest storms in my life: The storms reveal the lies we believe and the truths we need. Jonah tried to escape God’s call on his life by launching out onto the great sea. But he soon learned that God is the God of the land and the sea…. Though nothing could ever separate him from God’s love, we will experience consequences when we run from Him.”

She tells about the realization that one of the women in her online ministry group shared [paraphrase from Jeni Fobart], “Just as the men on the ship were paying a price for Jonah’s disobedience, who’s paying a price for mine? Who am I putting in harms’ way? Who am I not blessing, serving, helping because I’m hiding?” Larson expresses what I think we all feel after reading that perspective, “What a powerful observation! Once the sailors threw Jonah overboard, the storm instantly stopped. The men were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and God arranged for a fish to swallow Jonah. Getting swallowed by a fish can help a man swallow his pride…. Thank God for never giving up on you.”

Max shares yet another Bible story showing God’s grace and provision during trying times, “Before sending the flood that would cover the earth, God promised safety for Noah and his family. All of humanity at the time was wicked, ‘but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord’ (Genesis 6:8). This is the first time we see the word grace in Scripture. We might expect grace to debut in David’s psalm or Jesus’ sermon or Paul’s epistle. But it doesn’t. Grace comes when the flood does. Noah found a God who would stoop down and help him. Indeed, ‘stoop’ is the Hebrew meaning of the word grace…. Grace is the God who stoops, who descends, who condescends, and reaches. The Noah story is our story. The world is corrupt. The judgment is sure. But the salvation is certain. God has provided us a way of escape…. by Jesus…. He, and he alone, keeps us safe from the evil that floods about us.”

Power – Ecclesiastes 2:24 – There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink and make himself enjoy good in his labor. Even this, I have seen, is from the hand of God. Joyce points out that God not only keeps us safe, but also wants us to enjoy our lives: “In this Scripture, King Solomon, who is considered to have been very wise, said you are to make yourself enjoy the good of your labor. That sounds as if it is something you must choose to do on purpose. You can learn to enjoy all of life, even things others would consider ordinary and boring. Many people have the mentality of just trying to ‘endure’ large portions of their lives, but I believe it is tragic to live and not enjoy every moment. I admit some things are more emotionally pleasant than others, but you can learn to enjoy God’s presence in everything you do. Try repeating internally throughout the day to yourself: God is with me, and the moment I have right now is a gift from Him.”

Streams – Ephesians 5:19-20 – Sing…to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything. Cowman adds her thoughts about joy despite the circumstances, “No matter the source of the evil confronting you, if you are in God and thereby completely surrounded by Him, you must realize that it has first passed through Him before coming to you. Because of this, you can thank Him for everything that comes your way. This does not mean thanking Him for the sin that accompanies evil, but offering thanks for what He will bring out of it and through it. May God make our life one of continual thanksgiving and praise, so He will then make everything a blessing.”

Utmost – Chambers offers this about believing and living the truth that God is with us, “The one marvellous secret of a holy life lies not in imitating Jesus, but in letting the perfections of Jesus manifest themselves in my mortal flesh…. Sanctification is an impartation, not an imitation…. In Jesus Christ is the perfection of everything, and the mystery of sanctification is that all the perfections of Jesus are at my disposal, and slowly and surely I begin to lie a life of ineffable order and sanity and holiness ‘Kept by the power of God.'”

JL – “My King, …As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are Your ways and thoughts higher than mine. Help me to rejoice as I ponder how great You are. I marvel at the wonder of being able to commune with You – the King of the universe – any time, any place! Please don’t ever let me take this amazing prayer-privilege for granted. Even though You are infinitely greater than I am, You’re training me to think Your thoughts. As I spend time in Your Presence – reading Your Word and praying – Your thoughts gradually from in my mind. I realize that Your Spirit is the Director of this process…. These communications strengthen me and prepare me for whatever is before me on my life-path…. In Your majestic Name, Jesus. Amen.”