Contemplating God’s Grace

2 Corinthians 12:8-9 - Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away from me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.

An experience I had at our local McDonalds reminded me of God’s grace. My wife and I were having lunch with friends. When I went to fill up my soda, a woman was already at the machine. As she tried to fill her soda cup, her hands were shaking so much that she could barely grip her cup. Just as I was about to offer assistance, she managed to get the cup in the right spot and start the beverage flowing. She seemed very nice and we chatted politely for a few minutes, with her body shaking the entire time.

Twenty minutes later, just as we were finishing our meal, we observed a similar situation. A man in a wheelchair was eating at a table near us. He was also physically challenged. He kept coughing and also had a lot of tremors. My heart went out to him as I watched him struggle to eat. At one point he coughed so badly that his false teeth flew across the room. His friend jumped up to retrieve them, as if it were a normal occurrence. Watching his dentures fly across the room might have been a somewhat humorous scene, had my heart not already been stirred as I watched him struggle to eat his cheeseburger.

The lady at the soda fountain seemed like a kind person. She was well dressed. Yet her body shook constantly with whatever physical ailment she had. The man in the wheelchair had carried on an engaging conversation with his friend. He seemed like he had a good quality of life. Yet having his teeth fly across the room was just part of a normal day for him.

As I reflect upon my own life and the good health God has blessed me with, my mind is filled with thoughts about the grace of God. By God’s grace, I have overcome what should have been a fatal car crash, with only minimal lasting results. By God’s grace, I have survived cancer, which could have easily ended with a very different outcome. Why has God given me good health while others struggle with simple tasks like filling up soda cups or eating cheeseburgers?

Those of us who are in good health must remember that we are no better than those who live with chronic illness or disability. God does not love us more than He loves them. We have no more value to the world than they do. We must be mindful of the fact that since the curse of sin came into the world, there has been pain and difficulty. Some people are born with physical challenges, and others are not. Some people experience great sickness during their lives; others do not. None of us are better than the other. These situations are simply part of the curse of sin that has fallen on this world. Thankfully, one day that curse will be lifted. Until that day, each of us should spend some time contemplating God's grace in our lives.

Lord, thank You for giving us good health. Help us be a blessing to those around us who face physical challenges. Amen.

This post is an excerpt from the book, The Heavenly Mundane: Daily Devotions from Ordinary Experiences. Filled with stories of how God spoke in big ways through small events, the book will encourage people to look for God in the mundane things of life. Great for both personal use and to give as a gift to friend, either the print version or the e-book version may be purchased at this link:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MJ2UE4E