Grace By the Day
I woke up the other morning and turned on the TV. Joel Osteen, the famous preacher, was on TV, doing his thing, preaching to the masses. Now, I honestly can't stand Joel Osteen, but he said something that honestly helped me on a personal level. It's something I hope everyone out there can look into an adopt into their own lives.
Like I said, I can't really stand Joel Osteen. I don't read his books. I don't watch his programs. He seems like a nice guy, for sure. But he's got this super-smiley, super clean cut demeanor that I can't really identify with. However, when I turned the TV on, it was like he was speaking right to me. In the program, he talks about Grace. In the plainest of terms, Grace is a divine gift from God that offers salvation. Unlike the concept of Karma, in which your behavior defines how you will be treated, the concept of Grace is that you don't need to do anything to earn it. It is a gift freely given by God. No matter what happens, Grace saves you. Grace can help you get through the day. It can help you overcome obstacles in your life.
What Joel Osteen pointed out is that Grace starts new again everyday. God doesn't give you Grace to hold you over for two weeks, 2 years, or 2 decades. Rather, God gives you a new daily dose of Grace each and every single day, and only for that day. Why? Because God isn't asking you to live for tomorrow. He's asking you to live for today. For me, this has become a very powerful idea as of late. The one thing all of us in this world share is that we have problems. All of us. Everyone on this planet is going through things they wish they didn't need to go through. That's just the way it is. Many times, these problems seem so enormous that we aren't sure how to endure it for so long. However, God isn't asking us to endure it for long. He's just asking us to endure it for today. As a result, He gives us the Grace needed to get through that day.
We all go through personal wars in our lives. However, as it is in any war, the war is won not all at once, but one battle at a time. Each day is a battle, and it's important to fight the war one day (or one battle) at a time. Grace is like ammunition in such a battle, and it is renewed every day. It will give you just the amount of firepower you need for that day, and that day alone.
When I wake up in the morning, I know that I will be able to live properly for that day, because I am taking it one day at a time. Each new day is a clean slate...and I realize that I don't need to worry about the next week or next month. All I know is that I need to live for today, and for today alone, and I will live it to the best of my ability.
Like I said, I can't really stand Joel Osteen. I don't read his books. I don't watch his programs. He seems like a nice guy, for sure. But he's got this super-smiley, super clean cut demeanor that I can't really identify with. However, when I turned the TV on, it was like he was speaking right to me. In the program, he talks about Grace. In the plainest of terms, Grace is a divine gift from God that offers salvation. Unlike the concept of Karma, in which your behavior defines how you will be treated, the concept of Grace is that you don't need to do anything to earn it. It is a gift freely given by God. No matter what happens, Grace saves you. Grace can help you get through the day. It can help you overcome obstacles in your life.
What Joel Osteen pointed out is that Grace starts new again everyday. God doesn't give you Grace to hold you over for two weeks, 2 years, or 2 decades. Rather, God gives you a new daily dose of Grace each and every single day, and only for that day. Why? Because God isn't asking you to live for tomorrow. He's asking you to live for today. For me, this has become a very powerful idea as of late. The one thing all of us in this world share is that we have problems. All of us. Everyone on this planet is going through things they wish they didn't need to go through. That's just the way it is. Many times, these problems seem so enormous that we aren't sure how to endure it for so long. However, God isn't asking us to endure it for long. He's just asking us to endure it for today. As a result, He gives us the Grace needed to get through that day.
We all go through personal wars in our lives. However, as it is in any war, the war is won not all at once, but one battle at a time. Each day is a battle, and it's important to fight the war one day (or one battle) at a time. Grace is like ammunition in such a battle, and it is renewed every day. It will give you just the amount of firepower you need for that day, and that day alone.
When I wake up in the morning, I know that I will be able to live properly for that day, because I am taking it one day at a time. Each new day is a clean slate...and I realize that I don't need to worry about the next week or next month. All I know is that I need to live for today, and for today alone, and I will live it to the best of my ability.
posted by Mike Pana at
10:57 PM
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