“As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. For He knows our frame. He remembers that we are but dust” (Psalm 103:13-14).

Years ago, I heard “grace” as defined by the acronym: G.R.A.C.E.  God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense. A lovely, simple, easy-to-remember definition that so accurately sums up God’s compassion, love and forgiveness, expressed by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

Only last year, which by then was many years into my own relationship with Christ, did I hear a couple of teachers talk about another definition of grace that I’d never heard of before:

“Sometimes grace means God gives you the strength to put one foot in front of the other.”

WOW! It had never occurred to me that God walking with us, and sometimes even carrying us through our most difficult circumstances, was, in truth, another aspect of His grace. It goes beyond initial salvation.

The Good News gets better! The Lord’s grace pierces deeper as the Holy Spirit continues to stay present and active in our everyday lives. Whenever I look back over my life, I can see how true that is in times when I have been hurting the most and struggling to push through hard things.

We all have our more trying seasons in life and in the last 18 months, I’ve had some incredibly difficult family situations emerge. I have prayed often for God to give me “grace for the day.” That is one prayer that I have never heard our Lord answer with a, “No.” His grace abounds!

In witness,

Christina Starnes