And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: – 2 Corinthians 12:9, KJV

All too often, we have a twisted way of looking at God’s grace.

This morning, things were going great. I got an early start, and I was knocking items off of my to-do list like nobody’s business. Then, at 8:45 am, I went outside to crank my car and – nothing. The battery was dead. There was no way I was going to make it to my 10 am appointment an hour away, and that made me mad. I had stayed up late the night before preparing for it. While waiting for my mechanic to make a house call (He does that, when I need him to.), a couple of other minor things didn’t go my way. So, needless to say, I became a little grumpy. I got over it, of course, and carried on with my day, but the way the day started wasn’t much to my liking.

This evening, it dawned on me: I had taken God’s grace and thrown it back in His face! You see, I could have broken down anywhere, but God didn’t allow me to break down anywhere. He allowed me to break down at home, where I could work comfortably in my home office until the issue was resolved. On top of that, the issue wasn’t expensive to fix. The battery wasn’t the problem; a $5 battery terminal was. The issue didn’t take long to fix, and even though I had to schedule my 10 am appointment for another day, the rest of the day was fine. All in all, the day was fantastic, and the only thing that was lacking was my attitude towards God’s grace.

God’s grace doesn’t always show up in a form we readily recognize. But, rest assured, He grants us His grace daily, and in many, many ways. Sometimes, it comes in the form of an unexpected treasure. Sometimes, it comes in the shape of a friendly smile. Sometimes, it comes in the disguise of trouble – trouble that is much less intense than it could have been. Whatever form it comes in, recognize it as soon as you can, give God the glory for it, and allow it to bring your soul closer to His.

Thanks, Lord, for the dead battery at home. I can think of no better place to break down!