James 4:6 – But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." (NIV)

It was one of those days. You know the kind I mean: one little disaster follows another, until we finally reach the breaking point and we think we are just going to start screaming if one more thing goes wrong.

I was minding my daughters' brats, Sienna and Sam — such cute, innocent names for such devious, mischievous little imps. Throughout the day, my patience had been stretched to the limit with their antics. Sam had discovered that wallpaper rips very nicely off the wall, while Sienna had happily munched on one of my favourite Christmas decorations. On top of all of this, they had both had me up during the night and then proceeded to have numerous accidents on the floor and the rugs throughout the day.

As I pushed myself up off my knees from cleaning the carpet one more time, I found myself whispering, Grace, Lord, grant me grace to deal with this pair of little monkeys. And that's just what He did. His grace arrived through the gift of laughter, as everything Sam and Sienna had gotten into that day ran through my mind like some kind of crazy cartoon, causing me to see the humour of the situation in spite of my tiredness and frustration.

Sam and Sienna are only a pair of Yorkshire Terrier puppies, and yet, God's grace was available for me amidst their trifling, unending antics. Such love and mercy, in the form of grace, is a great encouragement to me. For if God's grace is so freely available to us amidst the small, minute things of life, imagine the outpouring we can look forward to when we are asked to face the truly gigantic, scary, mind-boggling issues that life enjoys flinging across our path when we least expect them.

Truly, as the old hymn written by Annie Johnson Flint states, we can trust that:

He giveth more grace when the burden grows greater;
He sendeth more strength when the labours increase…
His love has no limits; His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!

Prayer: Father God, thank You for Your gift of grace amidst the trivial as well as among the great burdens and frustrations of life. Truly, You are a most amazing God whose love and mercy have no limit and whose grace has no measure. For this, we praise You in Christ's name. Amen.

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About the author:

Lynne Phipps <lynnephippsatlin@gmail.com>
Tawatinaw, Alberta, Canada
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