Grace Just for Today
by Pam Smith
The Lord says to us in the Scriptures, ‘don’t worry about tomorrow. I have given you sufficient grace to get through this day. I am with you, that is all you need’.
‘So don’t be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time’ (Matthew 6:34).
How we need to know this in our spirits. How we need to trust him for each difficult moment. How we need to cry out like David in the Psalms 120:1, ‘I call on the Lord, in my distress and He answers me’. How we need to know Isaiah 43:2-3, ‘When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up – the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, your Saviour, the Holy One of Israel’.
I remember when Corrie Ten Boom was speaking of Gods’ grace she said that you only need the ticket for the train today, not tomorrow (although in these days you can buy an advanced cheap day return), but God gives you only enough grace for today, not ‘advanced grace’ for tomorrow. That will be there for me, in plenty, when tomorrow comes.
Sometimes I’ve felt alone in the battle I was facing, longing for someone to say a kind word to me, or encourage and love me a bit. I longed for a word of wisdom to help me find a way through. As I strained to look upward and offered that ‘sacrifice of praise’ in the midst of distress, I found that a wonderful thing took place. His strength rose in me, becoming an anchor for my faith, enabling me to reach out in love and compassion to others in ‘the same boat’.
So often I’ve found that God placed me alongside people with the same problems that I’ve experienced so that I’m able to help them find the answer in Jesus. The Lord has amazing ways of moving in our lives to encourage us. We may think that we’re poor, with no special gifting and nothing to give, yet we can give ‘rich spiritual gifts’ to others, from the strength, comfort and love that Jesus has given to us.
So when you’re having a tough time, take a look around and see whom the Lord has put beside you, in case they need a word of love or a prayer.
Prayer: Thank You Lord, that You give me exactly enough grace for this day and every day as I need it. You are my glory and the ‘lifter of my head’ and I rejoice in You, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Pam Smith has a background in art and nursing, has a son and two daughters and six grandchildren. She has been a friend and helper of Ellel Ministries since l992, and has been involved with Healing Through Creativity Courses. As writer of the Shepherd Love Series, she has a passion for the comfort and encouragement that leads people towards enjoying abundant Life in Jesus.
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