Songs Of Our Faith Part 7A
His Grace Is Greater
By: Larnelle Harris
Scripture: John 14:27; Phil. 4:7; 4:19; Rev. 21:4; Jer. 29:11
Introduction
This morning I will review a song that is very personal to me. This song functions as a reminder of a time in my life when I thought I had my life planned out only to find out that my plans were not needed in God’s plans. Although I could not confirm the original author of the lyrics, the person that I heard sing this song for the first time was Larnelle Harris, a well-known gospel singer and Deacon at his church in Kentucky. Let me tell you how this song came to be one of the songs in my life that grounded me back to the knowledge that my life is in God’s hands and that God is in control especially when my faith is being tested by this life.
I. My Testimony
The story behind how this song came to impact my life actually began 8 years before I ever heard it. In July of 1981 I enlisted into the United States Air Force. I made this decision to go into the military because it was the only way I would be able to go to college and obtain a 4-year degree like my older brother Barry. I, like my brother Delrick and our father, enlisted into the military as a way of accomplishing a task that I could not otherwise accomplish. I did not know or understand at the time how much of what was happening in my life was being directed by God. When I enlisted, I entered classified as “Open/General” which meant I could be assigned to any field based on how I performed throughout basis training and what my interests were. However, the Air Force’s needs would override my personal interest so if I chose something that was not an immediate need for them I would be assigned to where they needed me most.
Approximately four weeks into my six weeks of basis training I was trained on the M16 rifle. During that training we had to learn to how break down and reassemble the rifle and pass the firing test. It was during this training that my career choice was confirmed. I was on my way to earning a marksman award when one of the trainers told me that there was a need for military policemen and those who do well would probably be assigned to the military police squad. I did not have a desire to become a military police so once I knew that my score was high enough to pass the overall test I began shooting at the targets of the two individuals on either side of me. I do not know if I helped them pass or not but I did not qualify to become a military police. If I had I became a military police I probably would not be in Kansas today as my whole career would have been different. I know that God had a hand in this from day one. I knew He wanted me in the military but I did not fully understand why as I thought it was my decision only. I elected to go into the medical field because in my mind I could be stationed anywhere because there were medics at every military installation. That career choice opened the door for me to be in the field I am in currently and the military became an extension of my family. They provided for everything that I needed. I lived in a military dorm which was a secure environment with little to no crime. I had a guaranteed income and free housing. When Nikki and I got married we lived in base housing and shopped at the base commissary where our grocery bill averaged $50 every two weeks. This was the comfortable life that we lived.
In 1989, against the wishes of some family members, my military friends and others, I elected to get out of the Air Force after serving for 8 years. As I was preparing for my separation, Nikki’s supervisor suggested that I look into the pharmaceutical sales career field. Initially I rejected the idea as I did not want any job with the words sales in it. However, because I respected him I took his advice. I started interviewing with Johnson and Johnson (J&J) two months before I got out. After the first interview I was hooked and decided that this was the industry for me. When my last day came I still did not have a job but I knew one was right around the corner. I believed I was doing the right thing and I was ready. I was also seeing myself in pharmaceutical sales. How many times have you “felt” you were being led to do something and then doubted when the going got rough? That was me. You see, I did not get the job with J&J because I did not have sales experience. I was crushed but decided that I would eventually get into that field. I believed in my heart that God wanted me at J&J and that one day I would get there. My last day in the Air Force was around the first of April and I had a few weeks of leave time saved up so I got paid for an additional 30 days after I was discharged. Everything was fine during that first 30 days because I was still getting paid. During that time I tried to get some sales experience. I signed on to sell replacement windows door to door – which did not suit me at all. I quit that after two weeks and signed on to sell coupon advertising. That company turned out to be a sham so I did not stay there. This all happened within five weeks of me leaving the Air Force.
The whole time I was doing those two jobs I knew what I wanted to do and I “called” myself doing what I could to get ready for it. Every Sunday I purchased a newspaper and went through the ads looking for pharmaceutical sales jobs (they normally posted their ads on Sundays.) I applied for everything that I saw and did not hear back from many of them and when I did it was to inform me that while they appreciated my interest in their company, they were not interested in me. I began to get depressed as I reflected on if I had made the right decision. I began to worry that I had put my family in danger. I remember times when I would just lay across the bed crying, thinking and worrying about what I was going to do to take care of my family. I was thinking this way even though Nikki had earned more money than me throughout my military career. One day as I lay crying on the bed, Clarissa came in, got on the bed with me, and gave me a hug. Then she went and asked Nikki why I was crying. For some reason that was a wakeup call for me (one of many that I’ve had in my life.) It got so bad that one day I cried out to God and asked Him why? I told Him everything that I had done to prepare for my separation from the Air Force. I walked Him through how I went to school at night to get ready. I walked Him through my promotions to management in padding my resume. I walked Him through everything.
Why my spirit was finally quiet, God told me that my focus had been on me, not Him. “I” had planned my path; “I” took credit for my educational accomplishments; “I” took credit for my promotions; “I” had blazed my own path. He said that “I,” in my mind, had done everything “I” needed to do to prepare for a job outside of the military. After reminding me of what I had said, He basically told me that I could not have accomplished anything without Him. In my own little world I had allowed myself to think that I was in charge. I was wrong! Before I had this revelation, I heard this song – “His Grace Is Greater.”
I. Verse One
Verse one says, “His grace is greater than our failures, His peace runs deeper than our fears. If we go to Him in mercy, our hearts can rest assured; His love will keep us through our tears.” I was driving to Hot Springs, Arkansas one day for my training to sell replacement windows when I actually listened to the words of this song. At the time I was beginning to feel like a failure. It is amazing how your thoughts of yourself changes with every rejection letter you receive after applying for a job. You begin to wonder, “What’s wrong with me?” This is where my mind was going when I listened to the words of the song. I had started second guessing my decision to get out of the military even though I “thought” that was what I had been “led” to do. The sentence about His peace running deeper than our fears – I had to hear that several times. I have learned that God’s peace is difficult to understand because we are expected to not have peace during the difficult situations we are often faced with in this life. It is expected that we will worry, but that is not God’s plan for our life.
In John 14:27 Jesus makes the following statement: “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” Paul makes the following statement in Philippians 4:7: “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” I do not want you to take this lightly. There are many verses in the Bible that speaks of the peace of God. In the New Testament we are reminded constantly of God’s peace because of the implications that it carries. Have you considered the decisions you have made when you were at peace versus the ones you have made when you were worrying or stressed? I have found with me that I am able to focus better and think more clearly when my mind is at peace. Even during times of stress when I am walking in the peace that God has given me about a situation, I am able to think more clearly. My peace does not change the situation; it changes how I respond to the situation. In these two verses Jesus promises to give us peace and then Paul references that this peace will not be understood because you will have peace during times when the world says you should not. But here is one point I want to make before I move on. In the last part of Philippians 4:7 Paul states that God’s peace “will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
What does it means to guard something? It means to watch over, protect and/or defend. This is what God’s peace will do for our hearts and our minds. His peace will guard our hearts, the center of our emotions and our peace, and our minds, the center of our intellect. By guarding our hearts His peace is able to keep us steady and calm in the midst of the storms. By guarding our minds His peace is able to keep us thinking clearly and not making rash decisions as we walk through the storms. His peace, by guarding our hearts and our minds, enable us to sleep at night when the world around us is crumbling. We can rest because we know and understand that even though we are clueless about how He will work it out, He will work it out. We recite Philippians 4:19 where Paul reminds us that “…..God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus!”
Also in verse one the song writer talks about us going to God for mercy and being assured that His love will keep us through our tears. We all understand mercy. Showing mercy means we choose to forgive versus retribution; not to harm an offender. When we go to God in our sinful state, we beg and cry out for mercy if we’re smart. I do not know about you but I do not want justice when I come before God with my sins. I cry out for mercy and another chance to get it right. The song says when we come to Him for mercy, our hearts can rest assured that His love will keep us through our tears. Isn’t that a blessing? Isn’t that something that is worth remembering? Before I close out this verse, I want to speak briefly about tears – the tears we shed during difficult situations. Do you know that we have a promise that one day we will not have to cry any longer?
Revelations 21:4 says the following: “….and He will wipe every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning or crying…..” Do you understand what this is saying? While we are here on earth we will shed tears. We cannot get away from crying at some point in our life. Tears are a release of the pain and sometimes the joy that we hold deep within. But we have a promise that the tears we shed in pain will be wiped from our eyes and the day will come when we will no longer cry at all. This is a promise and because we have the futuristic promise, it means that in the present we will experience things that are painful and will cause us to shed some tears. But, even in the midst of it, as the song writer says, we will find God’s love will keep us through those times of crying.
I will continue this message next week. Have a very blessed week!
His Grace Is Greater
As Sung By: Larnelle Harris
His grace is greater than our failures
His peace runs deeper than our fears
If we go to Him in mercy
Our hearts can rest assured
His love will keep us through our tears
He'll give us strength to simply trust Him
Through times we may not understand
We will gain a sweet assurance
No passing doubt can dim
Our lives are safely in His hand
Though countless souls have come to Him
So desperate and lost
With faith no greater than a tiny seed
Each one has found a wondrous truth
Beneath His simple cross
His grace is greater than our need
No height or depth in all creation
Can reach beyond His love for me
And His power has raised my spirit
A work forever done
With grace
His power has raised my spirit
The work forever done
His grace is greater
His grace is greater
His grace is greater than my need
