"The eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love." -Psalm 33:18
A universe that eternally runs on grace is like a car that runs on fumes. You're staring down a line of traffic, wondering whether to pull over, or trust that this tank of gas, persistently "empty" for the past thirty miles, will get you three more blocks to the Wawa.
It's so much less stressful to be a pessismist. To plan for the worse. To freak out when things aren't going your way... than to trust to luck to come through for you once again.
I'll have to admit, sometimes God's daily grace seems to me like sheer luck. Can I truly believe God will forgive me AGAIN? Why would He come through for me this time... isn't He tired of bailing me out already? Maybe one day He'll get bored running my life, and I'll be left to fend for myself. Then it'll be down to the "real-world" way of living by trial and error, by logic and reason, taking what comes with a grimace of resignation. Life has no meaning... you only fooled yourself to believe that it did.
A phrase in a hymn this morning caught my breath. It stood out to me more, framed in a lot of Ukrainian that I didn't understand: "Na lasku Hospodnu nadiyemos mui - In the grace of God we place our hope."
The grace of God--bondad inmerecida--grace, by definition, is a gift unmerited. A grace note. A present that comes out of nowhere. Unlooked for.
How can we hope in a gift unlooked-for, undeserved... too good to be true?
The only answer I can offer is from the nature of God Himself. God loves justice and righteousness. He embodies all that is good in the world. So much so that every good and perfect gift comes from Him.
The best parallel for grace in the Old Testament comes in the phrase, "Unfailing Love." God's grace is a surety not because we deserve it, but because He loves us. The love of God never fails; therefore we can approach the throne of grace with freedom and confidence, knowing He will always be there for us.
Faith in this love gives us the strength to walk on water.
As the Psalmist wrote, may we pray daily:
"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." -Psalm 143:8
Amen. His grace is enough. It patiently awaits our admission of utter weakness.
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