Grace is a River

Growing up in the church, I heard a lot about grace but to be honest, I never really got it.  I knew that it meant 'unmerited favor', which basically reminded me that Jesus had saved me out of the goodness of His own heart and not because of anything in me.  This is true.  But what I didn't understand for years was that grace is not only the favor of God in redeeming me, but also His kindness in giving me the ability -- the power and strength and motivation -- to live out my life as a Christ follower.  Once I really saw this, grace became my lifeline and took on a beauty in my heart that I am hard pressed to even explain.

So yesterday I was re-reading Brother Lawrence's The Practice of the Presence of God and something he wrote literally upended my day.  It read:

But when He finds a soul penetrated with a lively faith, He pours into it His grace and favors plentifully.  There they flow like a torrent, which, after being forcibly stopped against its ordinary course, when it has found a passage, spreads itself with impetuosity and abundance.

Suddenly I envisioned grace as a river, flooding into my soul, looking for places to run.  I was overcome with that image of an impetuous force, determined to break down every barrier so that it can go where it wants to go.  I know that there is debris in my heart that can hinder the flow -- things like indifference or unbelief or worldliness or sinful practices -- but still this torrent presses relentlessly and I feel the weight of it.   Grace, it seems, will find a way.

Grace is a river, a mighty rushing river looking for places to run in me.  I feel as if I ought to be able to burst out in song here!  Do you see?  Instead of God's favor or enabling power being something He waits on high to pour out until I ask, or get my ducks in a row, His grace is just there, pulsing through my heart, pressing against every obstacle.  And the simplest of acts -- things like a word of faith, a small turning, a moment of worship, a whisper of love, or a cry for help -- will release the flow into yet another tributary.

Amazing grace!  May we bow in wonder as it surges through our souls.