“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.” 1 Corinthians 15:10
As I sat there in my bed and read this verse, such a flood of emotion came over me – an awesome wave of love and grace just came washing over me, so strong it could break your heart in two. This must have been the amazing grace that John Newton wrote about in the hymn and truly there is no other word to describe it except ‘amazing’.
My entire blog has been a testimony of God’s grace to me… Each day, each step, each path and looking back from as far as I can remember, I understand what Paul meant by saying ‘by the grace of God, I am what I am’. Without God’s amazing grace, I couldn’t possibly imagine where I would be now, if I would be at all.
Junior college was the start of my journey as a jesus freak, and yet despite my church and school ministry, most of my time was spent studying. So the only way it seemed that I could really glorify God was through my results. So I studied hard for my exams. I chose a path towards which I felt could help me serve better, but nonetheless, I didn’t want studying to be all that I could give to God.
I discovered the mission field and put all my energy into it because I loved it so much and loved it because I loved God. Things just seemed so perfect. But unfortunately, I could only spare little time to stay… Being a student still meant that studying and exams were to constitute a sufficient portion of my time. Yet with the numerous activities going on through the year and only one final exam at the end of the year, it seemed like I’d forgotten quite how to study as I did while in Singapore. I’d forgotten that the grace of God was also apportioned to my exams, not just my ministry. And again in 1 Corinthians 15:39 Paul writes, “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because that you know that your labour is not in vain.” To give myself FULLY to the Lord, meant not just in my ministry, my personal life, but also my studies… I guess it just seemed that there wasn’t much studying to be done all year so I’d forgotten. This labour is for God, not for me. Exams are coming up in a few days and being motivated by God’s grace has really helped to push me on in studying, something I’ve not done in a while.
To God Be The Glory.
