Songs Of Our Faith Part 7B
His Grace Is Greater (Part 2)
By: Larnelle Harris
Scripture: Jeremiah 29:11; Romans 8:28, 39; Isaiah 65:24;
Introduction:
In the first part of this song last week, I shared with you that I became fully aware of this song when I was discharged from the Air Force and was without a job for the first time in my working career. I shared with you how in my mind, I had done everything within my power to guarantee that someone, somewhere would hire me because of my experiences and my education. I took credit for my planning and my accomplishments which would lead me to a good job. When I did not immediately land a job, I questioned myself. It was at this time that I began to listen to and understand this song. Last week I reviewed verse one. We will pick up this week with verse two.
I. Verse Two
Verse two says, “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.” When I was lying across my bed crying and thinking about the position I had put myself and my family in, I thought about these words. God was not only asking that I trust Him – He was demanding it. God knew that how I chose to walk through this particular situation would impact my choices from that day forward as it related to me depending on Him. He wanted me to know; He needed me to know that my life was truly in His hand.
Two week ago Rev. Williams discussed what was written in Jeremiah 29:11. It says “For I know the plans that I have for you’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope.” Isn’t it amazing when you think about the creator of the universe and everything that is in it has a plan for your life? I was not thinking about God’s plan for my life during this moment of my life. I would like to think that had I been fully aware and walking with Him more closely I would have spent that time looking for the job He had prepared for me versus worrying. God said that He knows the plans. He did not say that “we” needed to know them; it is enough that He knows the plans that He has for us. The plans include things for our welfare, not for our destruction. This means that God’s plan is to look out for us and what is best for us. He has a future in mind for us if we will choose to walk with Him towards it.
Paul writes in Romans 8:28 that “….God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Paul reminds us that whatever we face, even though there are times when it will be painful, we will grow and learn from them and it will work to our good. How many of you know sometimes learning a hard lesson is for our good although it can be painful going through the actual learning process. When you read these two verses together you gain an understanding that our lives truly rests in God’s hands. He knows what He thinks of us, what He has planned for us – good and not evil. He knows that He has the power to bring what He has planned for us into a reality if we walk with Him. This can be compared to our saving for our children to go to college or trade school when they graduate high school. We know what we plan for them and we make provisions to bring it to pass. But our children also have input into it as it is their future. God knows what He has planned for us but we must align ourselves with Him in order to walk in and fulfill those plans. Paul reminds us that all things will work together for our good. We do not have to know how; we just have to know that it will.
II. Verse Three
Verse three says “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.” At this moment in my life I was the one coming to Him so desperate and lost with very little faith. For years my identity was wrapped around me being in the military and serving my country. I did not have to think about who or what I was because I was tied to or associated with something. When I did not have this, I literally felt lost. I could not have the same conversations that others had because the first question that many people ask when they first meet you is “What kind of work do you do or what do you do for a living?” I dreaded meeting people because I did not have a job that I could talk about. Going through this experience was the first lesson among many where I began to define myself not by the job I held, but by my relationship with Christ. There is not a 2 hour stretch of time that goes by when I do not think about something relating to God, this Church, or my (or your) relationship with Christ. It consumes me and I am okay with that even though I am sure it drives those closest to me crazy.
I was also the one who found that truly His grace was greater than my need. We often think about grace as it relates to unmerited favor – someone favors us even when we do not deserve it. This is a present thinking mindset, meaning that God is favoring me today despite what I did yesterday. He is choosing to favor me despite of myself. But I want you to think about this gift of grace from a different viewpoint. Yes God is giving it despite of myself, but He gave it before I even existed. He made His grace available to me thousands of years before I would need it. God knew that one day I would exist and I would need His grace. He knew that His grace would be greater than any need that I had because that is what grace does. He did not measure His grace to me so that when I use up my allotment I am without, He gave enough so that regardless of what the need was/is that I have, there is grace sufficient enough to cover it. The same applies to you. Let me give you one quick example from Isaiah 65.
Isaiah 65:24 says “It will come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.” God has promised that the day will come, and now is, that before we call upon Him He has already provided the answer. This is grace that is greater than our needs. He said that while we are still talking, He will hear us. This is grace that is greater than our needs. He has put His grace into place so that it is always available for us. In my situation, His grace was needed to get me to see that it was not about me, but about His will for my life. God’s grace is so much more than how we think of it as it relates to material blessings. I needed His grace to get my head and mind focused in the right direction. He could have easily become frustrated with me and how I was thinking, yet He remained at my side teaching and instructing me as I was finally able to start listening. Let look at the final verse.
III. Verse 4
The last verse says “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.” Romans 8:39 says “Nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God love for us is so great that nothing can separate us from it. Even if I turn my back on God and choose to go to hell, He would still love me. I would end up in hell but it would not be because God “fell out of love with me” or turned His back on me. No God loves us until the end. In this verse it says His power has raised my spirit, a work forever done…that spoke to me.
Imagine with me, if you will, that each of us were laying on a bed unable to get up. We have no strength of our own we are left to depend on someone else to care for us. Now imagine Christ coming into the room and taking our hands and lifting us up. Imagine receiving strength in your body to the point where you will never be sick like that again. Can you see it? Let me tell you something, this is the work that has already been done in your spirit! We are spiritual beings that must exist in a fleshly body in order to exist in this world. Our spirits have been renewed, but we have to accept it; believe it; and walk in it if we’re to make a change in our lives. This is what I needed. It was not about me needing a job, but that is what I focused on. It was about me needing a spiritual change to understand that God was my source. My experience and my education was not my source – God was and continues to be. My identity needed an adjustment that was not focused on “what I did for a living” but whom I served as I lived. Does this make sense?
The Rest Of My Story
After listening to this song over and over again, I began to meditate on what it was saying. Twenty-three years later I still remember the feelings I had at that time in my life. I remember being scared and not having peace. I remember the many job ads I responded to only to receive a rejection letter. I remember going to the unemployment office weekly to fill out the paperwork for my benefits. I remember having to prove that I was actually applying for jobs. Through all of this, I had to stop and remind myself that my life and the lives of my family members were in God’s hands. He was going to take care of us. I had to remind myself over and over of things He had already done. Remember the song the choir sings about encouraging yourself, that is where I was at this time.
My answer came. One Sunday I came across a very small ad for a pharmaceutical sales job in the newspaper. I almost did not see the ad because it was so small. I applied to the job thinking that regardless of the outcome, I was in God’s hands. I also applied for a job with the Arkansas health department to do child mortality studies for the state. I heard from the state first and began their interview process. Before they made their decision, I was also contacted by the pharmaceutical company. I was interviewing for both jobs at the same time but the state offered me their position first. The person who offered me the job apologized that she could not offer me more based on what she thought I was worth. I was considering accepting the job when I received a call to come in for a second interview with the pharmaceutical company. When I went in for the final interview, God told me the job was mine and it was offered to me on that day. The man who hired me, Joe G., told me that what set me apart from the other applicants was the fact that I had military experience. He too had been in the military and he said that because of my military experience he knew I had the discipline needed to be successful at this job. Where other companies rejected me for not having sales experience, in the end it was not sales experience that got me the job, it was my military experience. I cannot tell you how I felt walking out of that interview with the job offer or more importantly, how I felt when my boss told me why he hired me versus all of the other candidates.
I wish I could stand here and tell you that all along the way I walked in faith and was not worried. I wish I could tell you that my faith moved the mountains out of my way and I got the job as a result of it. I wish I could tell you that everyday I woke up praising God because I knew He was taking care of me. I wish I could tell you that I praised Him in spite of as I waited on what He had for me. If I told you any of this I would be lying. I need you to understand that I was at a very low point in my life and it shook me at my core. I had never experienced anything like this and in my mind I did not do so well with it. Before this I strongly walked in my faith – but when it came time to put up or shut up, I was at the front of the shut up line. It was all God. All of my preparation meant nothing without God opening the doors and directing my path. Whenever I am in a position to be concerned about my welfare, I remember May of 1989. I reflect on what God did and how He did it. I do not let it leave my memory because those memories have consistently strengthened my faith.
I do not know what you’re facing in your life, but just know that God’s grace is greater than our needs. His love for us reaches farther than any struggle, pain or sorrow that we must endure in this life. When all is said and done, know that our lives rest safely in His hands. May God bless and keep you is my prayer.
