“It does not matter where God places me or how.  That is rather for Him to consider than for me.  For the easiest positions He must give grace; and in the most difficult His grace is sufficient.  So, if God places me in great perplexity, must He not give me much guidance? in positions of great difficulty, much grace? in circumstances of great pressure and trial, much strength?  As to work, ministry was never so plentiful, so responsible, or so difficult; but the weight and strain are all gone.  His resources are mine, for He is mine.”

–J. Hudson Taylor, Missionary to China

“Grace.” It is a small word, but the depth of its meaning transcends time and place.  As a child, my teacher in Sunday School taught me that Grace meant “God Riches At Christ’s Expense”. This definition of grace helped my childish mind to wrap itself around this concept. God extended salvation to me because of his grace. Titus 2:11 reads, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.”  In my sinful state, I needed what He showed to mankind through Christ’s death on the cross. I needed the salvation he offered.   Songs, poems, essays and sermons have been written expressing in words the amazing grace of God.  Perhaps the most well know is “Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.” (John Newton)  Countless men and women throughout time have been awe struck by the “salvation grace” he poured out upon the human race and great debaters have gathered to discuss the importance and deeper meaning of the word, “Grace.”

However, As I grew and matured in my faith and walk with Christ, I experienced first hand the grace God gives to us on a daily basis. When the storms of life came upon me I discovered beautiful “day by day grace”.  In small trials and overwhelming storms of life, I found not only a friend I could count on but also a grace that was as big as I needed it to be. (Ephesians 2:7)  When I was in situations beyond my control and nothing I could do could have any bearing on the situation, I discovered the great grace of God was there for me.

In  2 Corinthians 12:9, Paul declares, “And he said unto me, My Grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”  Paul experienced trial upon trial to spread the word of God to the people of that time.  In the circumstances beyond his control Paul discovered the day by day grace of God an invaluable source of strength and encouragement. For in weakness we discover reliance upon God to be the only strength available.

J. Hudson Taylor had truly discovered grace when he penned the words above.  Perhaps you are struggling in the location God has placed you. I can honestly say I have been in that situation.  I was in a place where I wanted to get out. I wanted God to immediately fix the situation and make it better. (A lot of “I, I, I ’s” don’t you think? :) ) I wanted to be removed from that place, but God had something to teach me first. He wanted to show me that there was not only “salvation grace” but also “day by day grace”. No matter where God has placed you or what you are going through we have a God who loves and cares about you. Sometimes, He puts us in a place so we can see who we really are and who He really is. God might immediately remove you from the place of trial or He may wait, but no matter where we are God has our best interests on His mind and heart. We might want to give God the benefit of the doubt that He knows about our present circumstances and has a plan that is bigger than us. Our purpose is to please Him and glorify Him.  We can do that in everything.  Let us never forget that as Christians, we have at our disposal a magnificent amount of grace. We have help in our time of need. You may experience this day by day grace today.

“His resources are mine for He is mine.”