One Who Can Help

September 10, 2019

Let us then approach the 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

Our overwhelmed, overextended, overstressed lives are fueled largely by fear. Fear of not measuring up, fear of not having enough, fear of being left behind, and more. We have become an intensely competitive society, performance oriented, and basing our worth and significance on how we stack up compared to others. Social media fuels it. As Steven Furtick has said, “We compare their highlight reels with our out-takes and disappointments and feel deflated and despairing.”

Our culture tells us we are valuable and successful if we are young, beautiful, rich, successful, organized, busy, go on the best vacations, etc. A big part of managing the overload of modern life is changing our expectations and our definition of what constitutes success and what is enough. I admit this is hard. We must start by agreeing with God’s definition of success and what makes life significant. That requires margin.

Creating margin is counter cultural and it isn’t something that happens without effort. It requires focus and intentionality to sustain. We will need daily help. We can confidently go to the power that sustains the universe for our help. When we go to God’s great throne of grace, we don’t find criticism and comparison. We find grace and mercy to help us in every time of need. Margin is about living life to the full; the life Jesus promised us. It doesn’t eliminate every problem, but it gives rich rewards and takes us to the places that God designed to bless us. Here are a few of the rewards:

*Peace
*The ability and wisdom to nurture my relationships with God, myself, and others
*Spare time and energy to be present for those God puts in my path, and the ability to handle the inevitable challenges and crises
*Spare money, which enables me to be generous and less anxious about unexpected expenses
*Mental “space” for creativity and positivity
*Time to reflect on what really matters; to practice awareness and gratitude

• Today spend some special time at the throne of grace. Grace is God giving you just what you need just when you need it. Mercy is that He gives it even when we don’t deserve it. He’s waiting for you.