There are seasons in life when faith feels fragile and hope feels far away. I remember one of those seasons clearly. I had answered God’s call. I had trusted God with my whole heart. And yet I found myself without a job, without a home, and without a clear sense of what came next. In that place of fear and anger, I wondered if trusting God had been a mistake. I wondered if God had forgotten me. What I could not see then was that grace was already moving, even in the darkest chapter of my story.
Ephesians chapter two reminds us that grace does not begin when we get our lives together. Grace begins while we are still broken. The scripture does not say we were confused or struggling. It says we were dead. And then come two life changing words. But God. God, rich in mercy and great in love, made us alive with Christ. Grace stepped in when we could not move. Grace rescued us when we could not rescue ourselves. Grace is not something we earn or achieve. It is a gift that rewrites our story from the inside out.
In the Methodist tradition, we understand grace as something living and active in our lives. Prevenient grace meets us before we even know God is near. Justifying grace forgives and restores us, welcoming us fully into God’s love. Sanctifying grace continues to shape us, forming us into people who reflect Christ in the world. Grace does not stop at salvation. Grace keeps moving, calling us forward into lives of healing, holiness, and purpose. We are not saved by good works, but we are saved for them, created as God’s workmanship to live out love in tangible ways.
Looking back now, I can see how God’s grace was preparing more than I ever imagined. While I felt abandoned, God was laying the foundation for my calling, my ministry, and even my family. Grace was not working on my timeline, but it was working faithfully. That is my hope for us as a church. That we would not only receive grace, but move with it. Grace that forgives quickly, loves generously, and welcomes openly. Grace that notices the hurting, the outsider, and the one standing on the porch looking for hope. God’s grace is still writing stories. And it is not finished with yours yet.
If you would like to reflect more on how God uses broken moments to reveal purpose, I invite you to watch this short clip from comedian Michael Jr. It beautifully illustrates how calling and grace intersect in unexpected ways.
https://youtu.be/LZe5y2D60YU?si=OBuI1cYBjlF4NrHR&t=81
Grace and peace because Grace always goes before peace,
Pastor Sharon