New Year’s Grace

I was recently introduced to an old puritan prayer and it seems fitting to pray it at the end of a year and the beginning of a new one:

“Every new duty calls for more grace than I now possess, but not more than is found in You, the divine treasury in whom all fullness dwells. To You I repair for grace upon grace, until every void made by sin be replenished and I am filled with all Your fullness.

May my desires be enlarged and my hopes emboldened, that I may honour You by my entire dependency and the greatness of my expectation.

Be with me, and prepare me for all the smiles of prosperity, the frowns of adversity, the losses of substance, the death of friends, the days of darkness, the changes of life, and the last great change of all.  May I find Your grace sufficient for all my needs.”
– “Active Grace” from The Valley of Vision edited by Arthur Bennett

As I meditated on these words and on Psalm 23, my own prayer began to emerge:

“Almighty God, the year to come will require more grace than I now posses but not more than is found in you. Thank you, Lord. I remain in you for grace upon grace, gift upon gift, love upon love.

Fill me up with all your fullness that I may pour into others and flow your grace into this world. Thank you that you do not give me what I want but what I need. You will slow me down when slowness is needed. You will inspire me to action when movement is needed. I come to you and trust you to set the pace. You will set the tasks and will provide me with all that is necessary as the time comes. I do not have to carry the burden of setting the agenda.

You are my Shepherd and I do not want for anything. I will follow you through the valley of the shadow of death and beside the still waters. You always restore my soul. Loving Christ, I enter this year grateful for your all-sufficient grace and at peace knowing that you will meet the needs that I am not even aware of. Bring me back to you when I stray. May your grace abound in me.” AMEN

Disruptive Peace

Luke 1:30 “But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.’”

When the angel appears to Mary it is the most disruptive moment of her life up until that point.  God disturbs her quiet existence with His startling presence.  He makes a life-altering declaration telling her that she will give birth to the Son of God.  This moment is not peaceful in the way that we usually define peace.  We often think of peace as being the lack of conflict or the elimination of our problems and worries. However, true peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of God.

Mary experiences peace and responds with obedience and praise.  Her peace does not come because God solved all her issues and gave her a simplified life.  No, God actually made her life more complicated!  She had more problems now than before the angel showed up!  But she also had more blessings and more opportunity to be in the presence of God.  Perhaps God is working to bring peace in your life not by taking your problems away but by showing up in the midst of your problems.  Maybe His presence leads to more trials in your life but also to more faith as you realize that God is greater than all of the problems. Jesus is calling you to step out in faith which might mean disrupting your life so that you can experience true peace.

Lord, I desire your presence.  I follow you and I embrace the ways that you are disrupting my life. Help me experience your peace through your presence in the midst of my circumstances. You are in charge and I trust in you. – AMEN