Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.
Amazing Grace
By: John Newton, 1725-1807
Listen as you read. This version is from Sacred Piano by Paul Cardall.
Not to mention, wretched. Oh how soon we forget. Or at least try to, but why?
Lost
I do however remember the time I was in Kansas City. Lost in Kansas City. And it was in that era before you had a bevy of digital maps in your pocket. You know how it goes, made a wrong turn, ended up miles from where I meant to be long before I even realized it. It’s dark, and I was in an unfamiliar place with no real prospects for finding my way. My fellow travelers began to get visibly concerned. I quietly reassured them with a confidence that was frankly incongruous with the concern my face undoubtedly revealed.
What is it about admitting we are lost that is so difficult? What is it about admitting we can not see ourselves or our situation for what it really is? What is it that enables us to forget, even after learning it is indeed the case, that we are in a really bad way, with no hope of correcting the situation? What is it? Simply put, PRIDE.
Pride is essentially a feeling of deep satisfaction derived from one’s accomplishments. “I’m not lost. I can see well enough to get out of this. I am not in too bad of a position here?” Humility is the antithesis of this. It allows us to hear and voice a different perspective. “I am lost. I can not see how to get out of this situation. I am in a terrible situation with no ability to help myself.”
Found
It is the sweet sound of grace that allows us to hear these two tunes clearly, and not just at the start, but all along the journey. Grace is getting what we do not deserve. Grace allows us to realize how lost we are, and that there is a way out. Grace enables us to identify our inability to see things clearly if at all, and then restores our sight. Grace empowers us to stop trusting in ourselves, and shows us the One we can.
I remember praying as I drove those dimly lit Kansas City streets, “God, show me a way out of here.” It was not long after that we came around a corner and there in the distance I saw an overpass. It was my way out of the scary scenario I had fallen into, and was trying not to admit.
How often God provides the clarity to see our situation and a way out, and we fail to acknowledge it? What in your life is causing you to look for an overpass? Are you willing to ask God for it today? He is gracious, and wants to show you that again today if you will only ask.
Take a few moments and honestly answer those questions. Those answers may be the very things that will help you get moving on your journey to be resonant, echoing the reality of Christ in your life again today. Or maybe for the first time.
Jesus, thank You for helping me to hear the sweet sound of grace. I want to align my life with it again today. Help me hear the still, small voice of Your Spirit instructing me where to go so I can find a greater place of resonance with You.
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Thank you for the reminder that God’s grace follows us from lost to found!
Hmmm…I was just reflecting this morning on events in my life and wondering why I’m still struggling at times. Asking God to reveal unclean things that are hindering me. The word He brought to mind was PRIDE! Then I see this post. Ouch! Read a book recently called “Humble Roots” and many of its pages come rushing back to me. Many times wanting things to be MY way, MY timing. Yet a still my voice says, “are going to trust me.” Isaiah 55:8-9,”For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Thankful for His grace that doesn’t leave me where I’m at and keeps pursuing and molding me into the person He intended me to be.
Over the years the Lord keeps taking me deeper in my understanding of my pride, as I am ready to receive each painful, needful revelation. Like you Debbie, I too am thankful for His grace as He continues to transform my life to reflect His. I pray you continue to welcome His activity and that He will make you more resonant every day!