Grace is always in motion…

Most people know that we live right on the St Johns River in central Florida. It’s magnificent, fast-flowing, deep and life-bringing, and it’s only about 20 steps from our verandah. It has never been known to dry up, something that seems like a miracle to someone like me who grew up in a country where the specter of drought seemed to loom over many an eagerly awaited harvest.

It’s waters are fed by rain, yes, but also by many of the clear sweet springs that Florida is renowned for. The current is relentless and strong, and I marvel that the water I’m watching is headed out of sight to the ocean, but the river is never emptied. There is always more water.

Now, here in South Africa, we are in a cozy cottage at one of the most beautiful places I know, Storms River Mouth. The roaring Indian Ocean is just below our deck, its huge waves relentlessly pounding the rocks that lie scattered below us like the bones of an ancient creature, and I marvel that this relentless and noisy motion is profoundly soothing to my spirit. There is always another wave.

And the still, small voice whispers: “This is how my grace works in you. It has no end, it never runs dry, and it has limitless power! The current that drives my river of grace brings you to the limitless ocean of my love, always active in you, never drowning you; even when waves of circumstance roar they are only a reminder that you were made to ride the waves right onto the safe shore that is your relationship with me. The higher the wave, the further up shore it goes. My Grace is sufficient for you.”

I am amazed at the trouble God takes to show us his heart and I am deeply moved by the way he speaks when we start to listen. Every day his grace provides us with exactly what we need to grow in our relationship with him. He cares for us. And when we ask the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to  the invisible and our ears to the unspoken, he showers us with such gifts of grace that take our breath away with their beauty!

The older I get, the more it seems that the Lord speaks to me by the works of His hands all around me and I love the way King David, poet and psalmist, put it:  

“When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—

   the moon and the stars you set in place—

what are mere mortals that you should think about them,

   human beings that you should care for them?” (Psalm 8:3,4)

Yes, he cares, infinitely! And as the old song put it, “ …He walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me I am his own…”

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