Disturbed by Grace

My life has been under construction recently. It has been disturbed by grace. 


Step-by-step, change-by-change, God has held me close in the shadow of his wing and whispered: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9)


One Sunday morning about six weeks ago, I shared my testimony of spiritual and emotional healing in front of our church body. The service closed as we read this prayer from the pen of Sir Francis Drake:

"Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true, because we have dreamed too little, when we arrived safely because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the waters of life; having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity, and in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas, where storms will show your mastery; where losing sight of  land, we shall find the stars. 

We ask You to push back the horizons of our hopes; and to push into the future in strength, courage, hope, and love.” 

I stood there stunned and convicted.


I'd been leaning on the knowledge of God's sufficient grace so hard that I'd failed to see the beauty it was meant to display. I become a joyless, self-absorbed, hot mess. I had fallen in love with life and lost my thirst for the waters of life. 

In A Gospel Primer For Christians, Milton Vincent writes, "the gospel reveals to me the breathtaking glory and loveliness of God, and in so doing, it lures my heart away from love of self and leaves me enthralled by Him instead. The more I behold God's glory in the gospel, the more lovely He appears to me. And the more lovely He appears, the more self fades into the background like a love interest who can no longer compete for my affections." 

When I have the gospel in clear view, I am able to stand with confidence and say, "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." (2 Cor. 12:9)

The past two months have been filled with ventures on wider and scarier seas. And sure enough, I have seen His majestic hand and His countless stars despite my remaining weakness. 

Keeping God's majestic sovereignty in view allows me to be:

• more concerned with own sin. (Rom. 7:24)
• more thankful for my salvation. (Rom. 4:8)
• more confident in Christ. (1 John 5:14)
• full of joy. (Neh.8:10)

Where are you sailing today? Are you so satisfied with yourself that you find no need for God's promises? Or, are you venturing in the wider and scarier seas, beholding the beauty of His majesty? I'd love to lift you up in prayer!

*Check in tomorrow for a link to my latest guest blog over @ Allume. 

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