The Wonder of God's Grace

 

I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put aa new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD. Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie! You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told. (Psalm 40:1-4 ESV).

 

I am always amazed at the penchant for thinking that we are independent. Some independence is a good thing as we can use it to persevere and often discover new things. However, when we act as if we can fix the problem of sin in our lives we will always be confronted with abject failure. Yet, we do that so much of the time. We imagine that if we improve ourselves, we can be free of sin and guilt. We think that if we just work hard enough, our lives will become better. And if our friends and family would just listen to us, our relationships would become better too.

 

But the problem is too big for us. We cannot save ourselves from the problem of our separation from God. We cannot even stop ourselves from sinning. Only God can do that. Our reading today sings praise to the God who saves us. It sings praise to the God who is strong enough to conquer sin and is gracious enough to do that for us. It sings praise to the God who chose not to stay separated from us but came to save us and restore us to himself.

 

This Davidic Psalm sings of a salvation so great that only God could accomplish it. God has loved us in so many ways. The psalmist says to God, “Were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.” The many wonders God has done to save us are beautiful. Our abundant and beautiful salvation comes from God, the only one who can save us. Perhaps it’s time for you to stop merely starting over to only end where you were before. Start new in the grace of God! That is the wonder of God’s grace!