“Ever and always, God allows enough challenges to keep us dependent, enough goodness to keep us encouraged, and enough grace to sustain us.”- Susie Larson
“We cannot be too low at His feet if He is to cause the walls of our Jericho to fall. He will have no difficulty with those walls if He can get us to fall first.”- Roy Hession, British evangelist and author (1908-1992)
In Chapter 4 (“God Is Awesome: Take Off Your Shoes”) of Closer Than Your Next Breath, Susie Larson stresses the incompatibility of self-preservation and kingdom life. For when you live out of a lie, you only perpetuate more lies.
Yet, our faithful God always guides and provides. Certainly, Susie acknowledges, life is hard. But we serve an awesome God. Above all, Susie observes, we want to avoid missing God simply because we fail to sense His presence.
Therefore, Susie exhorts:
“Our lives burst with evidence that God is at work in our story. He charged the Israelites not to forget about His faithfulness. When we forget, we wander. When we recall and rehearse His faithfulness in the past, we more clearly discern His goodness in the present. Remembering is stewardship. Recalling is wisdom. Rehearsing is nourishment for our souls.”
In conclusion, Susie knows the following to be true after walking with God for many decades. God’s more powerful than we can comprehend and more powerful than we ever imagine. Furthermore, as you spend time with God, that reminds you that your present bursts with God’s power. That hope brightens your future.
Most significantly, God’s holiness overshadows our lowliness. As a result, it doesn’t matter that we fail to get what we want from God. The bigger question, Susie underscores, involves our desire to give God the glory He deserves.
As Psalm 77:14 (NIV) reminds us:
“Your ways, God are holy. What god is as great as our God?”
Today’s question: What Bible verses help you realize that God allows enough grace to sustain us? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Securely tethered to God”
