Category Archives: God’s Grace

Daily Riches: Thirst for God … or Not (A. W. Tozer)

Posted on by under God's Grace, Prayer, The Love of God

“O God, I have tasted Your goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want You; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Your glory, I pray, so I may know You indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, ‘Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.’ Then give me grace to rise and follow You up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”  A. W. Tozer

“O God, you are my God;
I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
where there is no water.”
Psalm 63:1-3

Moving From the Head to the Heart

  • Do you relate to the feeling of having “wandered so long” in the misty lowlands when God was calling you to the heights? to Himself?
  • Can you “fess up” to the lack of desire for more God in your life?
  • Gods’ grace both satisfies our thirst for Him and creates in us a deeper thirst for him. He must do this for us, and does it in his love. Can you ask God now to do a “new work” in you? upsetting your status quo? replacing your sense of satisfaction with unease and deep thirst?

Abba, I too am painfully conscious, not only of past time spent wandering (but not wasted) in the lowlands, but also of present time characterized by lack of truly deep thirst for you. Perhaps I’m even frightened, not knowing what to expect. Help me to trust your love and welcome the work of your grace in my soul.

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For More: The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer

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These “Daily Riches” are for your encouragement as you seek after God, and as he seeks after you. My goal is to give you something of uncommon value each day in 400 words or less. I hope you’ll follow my blog, and share it. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)

Daily Riches: God Suffers With Us in Our Suffering (Terrence Fretheim)

Posted on by under God's Grace, The Love of God

“God desires closeness; intimacy is God’s goal. Further, God is one who chooses to be so present in the finitude and frailty of a human being–indeed, a powerless human being as power is usually conceived. He is one who startles the nations, for who would have believed that the arm of the Lord was revealed in such a one as this (Isa. 53:1)? In and through such individuals, God thereby identifies with frail people. And it is thereby shown that God is not a suffering-at-a-distance God; God enters into the suffering of all creatures and experiences their life.” Terrence Fretheim

“So I weep, as Jazer weeps…
I drench you with tears!
The shouts of joy over your ripened fruit
…no one treads out wine at the presses,
for I have put an end to the shouting.
My heart laments for Moab like a harp,
my inmost being for Kir Hareseth.”
Isaiah 16:9-11

“’In Moab I will put an end to those who make offerings on the high places and burn incense to their gods,’ declares Yahweh. ‘So my heart laments for Moab like the music of a pipe; it laments like a pipe for the people of Kir Hareseth.’” Jeremiah 48:35-36

“To hear such mourning on the part of God for a non-Israelite people is striking indeed. Most of this language is also used to describe the weeping and wailing of the Moabites, so that the impression created is that of a God whose lamentation is as deep and broad as that of the people themselves. As with Israel, God is the one who has occasioned the judgment in the first place (e.g., Jer 48:38); but once the judgment has occurred, God joins those who mourn.”  ibid.

Moving from Head to Heart

  • God “has occasioned the judgment … but once the judgment has occurred, God joins those who mourn.” Contemplate that. Isn’t it amazing?
  • Have you ever mourned over some disobedience of yours and the divine chastening that followed? Did you realize that God was there, in his love for you, mourning with you?
  • God “identifies with frail people” – and not only with “his people” (Israel, the church), but with all people (e.g., Moab). Does your attitude towards unbelievers reflect God’s attitude? Can you have compassion even for those God might be judging?

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For More: The Suffering of God by Terrence E. Fretheim

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I appreciate your interest in my blog!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)

Daily Riches: Suffering and Grace (Jim Palmer)

Posted on by under Embracing Losses and Limits, God's Grace, Suffering and Grace

“I used to be ashamed of my depression,

but now I see it’s a secret trapdoor to God. When it hits, I sink down into that black hole and often find Jesus there. … now when I am asked [who Jesus is], I am most inclined to say, ‘Jesus is the one who sits down close to me in my black hole of despair, offering himself until it passes.’” Jim Palmer

“Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it [Paul’s “thorn in the flesh”] away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:8-10

Moving From the Head to the Heart

  • Do you have some weakness, hardship, persecution or difficulty that causes you to sink down into a “black hole of despair?”
  • Can you imagine Jesus “sitting down close to you” in that dark, painful place and “offering himself until it passes?” Do that now.
  • We often despise our weaknesses, and ourselves for being weak, but the apostle Paul says he is glad for his weaknesses and delights in his difficulties. The next time you visit your own painful “black hole” of trouble, can you wait there for God to make himself known to you in a new and saving way?

Abba, thank you for desiring to make yourself known to me in the midst of my most painful experiences. Help me to notice, to listen and learn, to submit, to give thanks, to be comforted, to be changed.

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For More: Divine Nobodies: Shedding Religion to Find God by Jim Palmer

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The “Daily Riches” from RicherByFar are for your encouragement as you seek after God, and as he seeks after you. My goal is to provide you with something of uncommon value each day in 400 words or less. I hope you’ll follow my blog, and share it with others. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)

Daily Riches: Patience with Yourself (Paul Tillich)

Posted on by under God's Grace, Patience with Yourself

“Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness. It strikes us when we walk through the dark valley of a meaningless and empty life. …It strikes us when, year after year, the longed-for perfection does not appear, when the old compulsions reign within us as they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage. Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and it is as though a voice were saying: ‘You are accepted. You are accepted, accepted by that which is greater than you, and the name of which you do not know. Do not ask for the name now; perhaps you will find it later. Do not try to do anything now; perhaps later you will do much. Do not seek for anything, do not perform anything, do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted.’ If that happens to us, we experience grace.”   Paul Tillich

“God’s law was given
so that all people could see how sinful they were.
But as people sinned more and more,
God’s wonderful grace became more abundant.
So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death,
now God’s wonderful grace rules instead….”
Romans 5:20,21a  NLB

“Out of his fullness we have all received grace…”
John 1:16

From the Head to the Heart

  • Is God’s grace enough for you when “the longed-for perfection does not appear” in your life?  when “despair destroys all joy and courage?”
  • Can you keep from trying to seek for anything or perform anything or intend anything just now, and simply “accept the fact that you are accepted?”
  • The Apostle Paul says that “as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant….” I’m one of those “people”, and so are you. “Out of his riches, we have all received grace….” Can you thank God now for his grace that works in you at your lowest, most undeserving moments?

Abba, all I can do is depend on your ever-present grace.

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For More: The Shaking of the Foundations by Paul Tillich

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These “Daily Riches” are for your encouragement as you seek God, and as he seeks you. My goal is to provide you with something of uncommon value each day in 400 words or less. I hope you’ll follow my blog, and share it with others. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)