Embracing New Waves of Grace: Shifting from Self-Reliance to a Flow of Grace

You are working hard, showing up with a smile on your face, doing your best. You do everything by the book, following the rules others made, but the results are small and things are not moving. You've been depending on your inner strength and now feel exhausted. Could you shift from self-reliance to embracing the flow of grace instead?

After observing several wives, mothers, fathers, and leaders who are exhausted from dealing with daily challenges, and recognizing that I am in a similar cycle, I questioned how to work from a place of grace instead of relying solely on my own strength.

For those following my artistic journey through my poems and paintings, you already know that my inspiration mainly comes from studying and contemplating scriptures. Some time ago, I discovered that every form of grace and wisdom can be found and acquired through diligent study, listening, declaring, and reflecting on scriptures. A few days ago, I immersed myself in Lamentations 3:22-23, seeking the grace to work from grace instead of relying on my own strength. 

The Scripture states, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”. I memorized this scripture and reflected on it throughout the day and night when I awoke, rather than dwelling on the challenges I am currently facing. 

Today, I used part of that verse to introduce the worship at our church service, only to discover that it was also the scripture for the sermon at the Tuzla church. Those who know me are aware that I'm not a great singer, yet I serve as one of the worship leaders in our church. I love worshiping God, but I find leading worship challenging. While leading today, some worries tried to overwhelm my mind. Instead of struggling with them, I kept reminding myself of the quoted verses. As I continued to release my struggles to God's grace, which is new every morning, I eventually felt waves of His grace washing over me. It was wave after wave, after wave of grace. I was refreshed by it.

Waves of grace went beyond just a mental or emotional release. Today I was also refreshed by reconnecting with a long-lost friend and receiving an encouraging email first thing in the morning from someone I’ve never met in person who was inspired today to pray especially for me. Those were tangible, unexpected waves of grace. There were truly NEW graces for me this morning!

How can you let go of your daily challenges and lean on new grace instead of relying solely on your inner strength? When you discover your moments of new graces, please remember to share the experience with someone else who might benefit from it. I would love to hear your story as well! Be blessed!

I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” Lamentations 3:24