GRACE FOR THE DAY AFTER

GRACE FOR THE DAY AFTER. 

Have you ever spent weeks, perhaps even months, preparing for something? It could be an important occasion, a major project or a difficult assignment.

Something that demanded so much of your time, energy, attention and prayers that almost everything else had to take a back seat.

You went through days filled with so much to do. Telephone calls to make, decisions to take, people to speak to and loads of problems to solve. And as each day passed, you kept asking God for help because you knew it was beyond you. You asked for grace, favour, provision, strength and wisdom. And God helped you.

Perhaps not always in the ways you expected, but somehow, one day followed another, things came together, and you made it through.

Then suddenly, IT WAS OVER.

IT CAME TO PASS.

The occasion took place.

The assignment was completed.

The visitors had gone home. The last item on the list was ticked off.

And there you were, looking at the ordinary days ahead. Now what?

I recently found myself in just such a place.

After weeks of intense preparations for a very significant family occasion, I was finally on my way home.

And somewhere along that journey, a thought crossed my mind:

Wow. Back to my normal everyday life.

Except that life wasn’t quite the same anymore.

Some things had changed. Actually, a lot had changed.

And I knew that there were still things ahead that I would need God’s help to walk through.

This got me thinking.

We often recognise our need for God’s grace when something enormous is before us.

We pray fervently.

We seek His direction.

We ask Him to order our steps.

We depend on Him for the strength to get through each day.

But what happens when the big assignment is over?

Does our need for His grace end simply because the occasion has ended? Certainly NOT!

The Bible says:

“As thy days, so shall thy strength be.” — Deuteronomy 33:25 KJV

It does not say, As thy difficult days, so shall thy strength be. No!

It does not say, As thy extraordinary days, so shall thy strength be.

It says:

As thy days.

Whatever those days look like, God has the strength we need to get through them.

The busy days.

The quiet days.

The days filled with people and activity.

The days when the house is quiet again.

And the days when we are simply trying to find our feet.

Every kind of day.

We must not forget that we need God’s help for the ordinary things just as much as we do for the extraordinary ones.

We need His grace to carry great responsibilities.

We also need His grace to be patient with the people around us.

We need His grace when the pressure is enormous.

But we also need His grace when the pressure lifts and we must adjust to a different rhythm of life.

We need His grace to keep going.

And sometimes, we need His grace to know when to stop and rest.

The assignment may have changed, but our need for grace has not.

Sometimes we become so focused on asking God to help us through a particular season that when the season is over, we almost forget to stop and acknowledge just how much He has done.

David reminds us in Scripture:

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” — Psalm 103:2 KJV

Before rushing into the next thing or the next season, we must pause.

To remember where our help came from.

To give thanks.

To acknowledge the people He used to help us.

The doors He opened.

The strength He supplied.

The wisdom He gave.

The things that worked out when we couldn’t quite see how they would.

And even the lessons we learnt about ourselves along the way.

Because sometimes the season we have just walked through has not only changed our circumstances. It has changed us.

We may have discovered strengths we didn’t know we had.

We may have recognised weaknesses we can no longer ignore.

We may have learnt to appreciate people differently.

We may have seen areas of our lives where we still need God to work on us.

God’s help is not limited to getting us through an assignment. He is also interested in the person we are becoming.

So, dear friend, perhaps you have just come through a demanding season.

Perhaps something you have prayed about, worked towards or prepared for has finally come to an end.

Or perhaps you are simply returning to the familiar routines of everyday life, except that something about life is no longer quite the same.

The God who carried you through yesterday has not left you to manage today on your own.

His grace is still available.

For the adjustments.

For the uncertainties.

For the ordinary responsibilities.

For the things that still need changing.

For the days when you feel strong.

And for the days when you don’t.

There is grace for the big occasion.

Grace for the demanding assignment.

Grace for the long nights and busy mornings.

And there is grace for the day after.

The occasion may be over.

The guests may have gone home.

Life may be returning to its ordinary rhythm.

But the grace of God has not packed its bags and gone home with the guests.

Let us thank God for yesterday.

Let us trust Him for today.

And let us be assured that His Grace abounds even for the day after.

OLUYINKA EGO-MARTINS ©