When I was in primary grade school, I remember living at this one house where my bus stop was literally 2 houses away from my own home. It didn't seem like that bad of a deal except EVERY.SINGLE.DAY there was this hairy, brown Chow (a breed of dog) that used to be there when I got off the bus. It was as if he knew what time the bus would arrive and would be waiting at the foot of the steps for my descent onto the pavement. What's more is that I was one of the three people who was assigned to get off at that stop and somehow the dog always decided to follow ME home. I literally dreaded getting on the bus at school because of fear of what was awaiting me when I got to my bus stop. It was as if he smelt the fear in me and taunted me every step home. If I ran, he ran...if I walked fast, he was on my heel; there was nothing I could do (or others kids could do) that would keep him from following ME home. I didn't really have a fear of dogs, but for some reason, I was very afraid of this one dog and his obsession with me.
Let me introduce you to the 'hounds of Heaven':
Grace: Receiving something we don't deserve.
Mercy: Not receiving what we deserve.
I find this same story to often be true in our lives: We are oddly fearful of grace and mercy. These 'hounds of Heaven' are assigned to chase us down and follow those of who walk with God as Believers. But yet we seem to fearfully question their pursuit.
I know you're probably thinking, "
Tuh, I welcome grace and mercy in my life...I'm grateful for them!" But not always. When I say we are fearful, I'm not meaning fearful in the literal sense. If we were quite honest with ourselves, some of the ways grace and mercy present themselves- cause us to flee quite hurriedly. How so?
Let's say, for example you are going about your life trying to please God and yet there's an area of your life that you continually seem to fail in when it comes to yielding to Him. As a matter of fact, let's just take it a step further than that. Let's say you are unwilling to yield that particular area to Him. You know He's not pleased with it and you sense some form of conviction, but you just aren't ready to let Him be Lord of that habit quite yet.
So now, you are faced with a situation where you need to ask for something in particular, in prayer.
What do you do?
You either relent in asking Him for it, or you shy away from expecting Him to come through for you. Why?...
Because you figure, you don't deserve for Him to answer that prayer. So you just don't ask for it, altogether! Yea, THAT'S running from His grace.
But let's say He answers that need (that you decided not to ask for) or better yet, EXCEEDS your un-spoken request. Don't you feel a sense of undeserved gratitude?
What we fail to understand is "God IS good". PERIOD! Therefore, because it's in His nature to be good, He can't help but give good gifts to His children (Matt. 7:11; James 1:17). Giving grace is a by-product of Who God is!
"For by GRACE (hound) you have been saved, through faith. This is not your own doing, so that you cannot boast..." (paraphrased)
Ephesians 2:8-9 is the foundation of our faith...it is the ultimate picture of GRACE waiting for us at the bus stop. When we aren't even looking for it (Romans 3:11), it's chasing us down.
Society has taught us that merit-based, reward/consequence system is just. The great thing is that although God operates within that system, He isn't confound to it! His nature supersedes that system as He desires to saturate us with things we don't deserve, at times we aren't expecting it and in ways we could never imagine. And at our lowest moment, when we are ready to sentence ourselves with the greatest of punishments, He chooses to hold back His wrath and spare His ability to consume us.
THAT is grace and mercy. Don't fear them...embrace them.
If you've messed up, before you spiritually hang yourself (by backing up from church, stepping out of ministry, walking away from relationships) loosen your grip on that rope. God desires to release His hounds on your life.
Are you feeling less than deserving of blessings and good gifts? Take yourself out of the equation and your focus off of yourself...God has His hounds chasing you down; it's only a matter of time before they overtake you! Prepare yourself for them. Their purpose is to compel you towards giving Him thanks and causing your life to bring Him glory.
