Beaten by Grace

Suffering, failure, loneliness, sorrow, discouragement, and death will be part of your journey, but the Kingdom of God will conquer all these horrors. No evil can resist grace forever. … If you reject the ragamuffin gospel and turn your back on Christianity, do so because you find the answers of Jesus incredible, blasphemous, or hopelessly hopeful.
~ Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel:

But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a Voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. … Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your Name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine to carry My name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of My Name.” So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened.
~ The crushing of Saul, that he might become paul, The Least of The Apostles, in Acts 9

Oh beloved, it is true.

Many of us have read the story about the man named Saul of Tarsus. Saul was actually a man who was utterly committed to his religion. He thought that his religion was right and true and noble and just. However, as most religions do, they just work to eliminate the possibility that they are wrong.

And, if each of us are honest, we realize that our lives are a bit like Saul’s. We are going through our lives, breathing threats against those who would be against us. We, like Saul, actually go full-tilt against those who would tilt against us. We believe that G_d is on our side, and that He will support us in our actions against others.

We could not be more wrong.

Can we see it?

It was not that G_d was not on Paul’s side. Nor is it that G_d is not on our side. It is, rather, that G_d is so much more for us than we know, that we cannot really even begin to imagine. And for sure, it takes a Force Majeure to break through our hard and unlearning hearts.

But, breakthrough He does. He actually beats us to our own punch. Once, we thought we were reaching out to serve Him. But now, we realize that it is Him Who has been serving us life and strength and wholeness the whole time. Now, sometimes this breakthrough comes in the form of some pretty tough circumstances. However, our spiritual skin is so tough, that He often has to jackhammer us open, that we might even hear Him, let alone acknowledge Him.

So, are you feeling like things are getting tough in your life, and that the Pressure may be coming from Him? Good. You are probably just right on track. He is about to crush your life that it might be set free and given power beyond measure in Him.

Tonight is your night. Time to surrender. He will overwhelm you with His Grace whether you do or not.

Jesus says. “Acknowledge and accept who I want to be for you: a Savior of boundless compassion, infinite patience, unbearable forgiveness, and love that keeps no score of wrongs. Quit projecting onto Me your own feelings about yourself. At this moment your life is a bruised reed and I will not crush it, a smoldering wick and I will not quench it. You are in a safe place.
~Brennan Manning. Abba’s Child: The Cry of the Heart for Intimate Belonging