Embracing the Oil of Grace -- A Guest Post by Sandy Mayle

 It's my pleasure to welcome Sandy Mayle to the Hungry for God blog today. Sandy's an excellent writer with a deep love for God. I know you'll enjoy her post, Embracing the Oil of Grace Why not leave her a sweet comment in the comment box to thank her for sharing her insights with us today?

My husband and I rarely argue. Not just because we have a great relationship (although we do), but because Dave and I both dislike confrontation and the distance and inner unrest that follows. 

But one day we did argue. Not over anything major, but about his upcoming retirement, the income change that will occur, and his (according to me) pessimistic view of that, and my (according to him) self-chosen oblivion to the realities of our financial situation. 

No yelling. No stomping off, no refusing to talk. Just a dug-in disagreement that left me sad and hurting. The next morning I still felt badly about the whole thing.

In private prayer I searched my heart, praying for understanding. Was God convicting me of wrong? Did I need to apologize, ask forgiveness, do anything? But I got nowhere. Finally, I turned my attention fully on the Lord. 

Lord, what do You say? 

And He answered: 

Grace. 

One word. And that one word said it all. 

The peace, the clarity was immediate. The storm within me quieted instantly. For in that moment God downpoured His shining “Spirit of grace” (Heb. 10:29) over myself, and Dave, and the whole situation. 

Like a rain of holy oil, sweet and smooth, His grace eased the hot friction of discord and quieted the grinding gears of dissension. Like a cool, consoling balm, that grace salved and soothed, took the sting out of words spoken, and freed me to move on. 

When peace wouldn’t come by way of explanation, or understanding, or confession, or compromise, here came grace to do for me (just like at salvation) what I couldn’t do for myself. Grace was God’s compassionate response, Him seeing, and caring, and moving to meet our need. 

Thank God for grace. 

The apostle James wrote to believers in conflict (James 4:1–6), calling them out for their fights, quarrels, warring desires, and selfish prayers. And he noted the antidote: “But He gives more grace . . . [He] gives grace to the humble” (v. 6 NKJV).  

Thankfully, God is the ‘God of all grace” (1 Peter 5:10), the Grace-giver who readily pours out His gift of overcoming sufficiency (2 Corinthians 12:9). And He invites each of His children -- those saved by faith in Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself to pay for their sins -- to the throne of grace: “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). 

We need grace. 

Every day. Everywhere. 

In our families, our churches, our workplaces, our politics, our communities. When we feel a painful grating in close relationships. When we meet opposing viewpoints and conflicting desires. When we long for God’s grace to plash down the frazzled hours of hectic days. 

That grace is ours when we approach His throne as His child through Christ’s atonement, confess any sin, consecrate afresh all we have and are, and in humble confidence, ask . . . wait for . . . and receive . . . the rain of grace. 

 A few days later Dave called me to bring a pen and paper. Together we discussed (calmly), listed our anticipated retirement expenses, and drafted a rough budget. He could have said he won (after all, he’d educated me about our finances). I could have said I won (the surplus after expenses looked fairly optimistic) but I think God said it best: 

Grace. 

 

Sandy Mayle is a freelance writer. She and her husband, Dave, live in Erie, Pa., and have three adult sons and four grandchildren. Sandy loves words, the Word, walks in the woods and personal retreats to lovely Olmsted Manor in northcentral Pennsylvania.

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Refresh Your Faith contains 66 culturally relevant, story-driven devotions, one from each book of the Bible. Each real-life story spotlights an unusual verse or Bible passage that you may have overlooked in your usual Bible reading. Lori Hatcher challenges you with additional features like an uncommon thought to ponder; an unusual faith action step; and an unfamiliar passage suggestion for additional Bible reading.

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