There But For The Grace Of God Go I

Friday April 12, 2019

While watching the evening news, we often hear about a disaster caused by someone driving while drunk or high or learn the next grim statistic in the crisis around the world due to opioid addiction. For many of us alive and breathing and sober the following slogan is meaningful, "There but for the grace of God go I." At meeting after meeting we hear these words read from "How It Works": Remember that we deal with alcohol - cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power - that One is God. May you find Him now!" Yes, there are things we can and should do to maintain sobriety like rigorous honesty and working the steps. But these alone, aren't enough. We need the help of God that comes in the form of His amazing grace.

By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved. (1 Corinthians 15:10, Ephesians 2:4-5 ESV)

Grace is something freely given. We can't earn it and don't deserve it. Many of us are alive today simply by the grace of God. Some of us are finally walking in the light after having been lifted out of the darkness of despair and delusions caused by poor choices and painful traumas. Living in freedom comes directly from the grace of God.

We can hardly imagine a God who is so good, so kind, and so generous that He would reach out to us in our brokenness and offer to make something beautiful of our lives. Yet God is doing that all the time and we are living clean and sober today as examples of His grace. Jesus took the penalty for sin and brokenness on Himself and died on the cross so we could have forgiveness and healing. That's the grace exchange. That's God's generosity to you and I that is totally undeserved but generously given.

Prayer: God of love and grace, thank you for caring for me when my life was a wreck. I know I need Your wisdom today and every day to make the choices that take me forward in recovery so I can effectively live the life You created for me. Help me to make "grace exchanges" each day so that my brokenness and sin go, and Your grace fills me up. Amen

More information on this and other related topics @ http://www.partnersinhope.ca/life-with-god-in-recovery-resources/

There But For The Grace Of God Go I

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