Sustaining Grace

Last night as I was struggling to fall asleep for yet another night I was crying out to God for his mercy. I remembered something suddenly from a pastor I had heard years ago; when you cannot sleep at night it may be that God has something to say to you. For whatever reason, the Lord brought a phrase to mind: sustaining grace.

It reminded me of God sustaining his people in the wilderness through manna. Each day the people of God were meant to go outside in the morning to collect a flour-like substance and that would be their sustenance for the day. This rhythym of grace wasn’t their sustenance for a week, but for a period of forty years. And God was faithful to sustain his people until he delivered them to the promised land.

Lately, I’ve been struggling with my health and my desire has been to be in a “normal” season. A desire to get back on my feet and continue to pursue my calling at a level that I deemed normal. As I tossed and turned in my bed meditating on God’s sustaining grace I realized that I am in my normal most likely. It is God’s sustaining grace that perks me up in times of great darkness and heaviness, but it is also his sustaining grace that allows me to be effective and productive in times of lightness.

I am reminded of Corrie Ten Boom’s story. Corrie and her family ran an operation to hide Jewish people during German occupation. She was eventually imprisoned with her family and endured much hardship. However, when she was released from prison she had a desire to get back into the work she was doing before. What she realized was that she no longer had the gifts necessary to do the work. Everything she accomplished prior to her imprisonment, and even during her imprisonment, were all gifts from the Lord.

I am humbled by that reality, that no matter what season I am in, it is God’s sustaining grace that allows me to accomplish anything whether that be small or large. The charge I have been given in each season is to be faithful with what I have been given. So if you are like me and you are in a season where you are wishing for some normality, I’d encourage you to lean into the sustaining grace of the Lord. Be faithful with what he has given you, whether that is little or much, and take solace that at the end of the day God delights in you and is in control. You need not worry or fret about tomorrow, for there is enough to do for today.