When Does God Give Grace?

I’ve lost count of the times I’ve wished I knew the future, or at least a few aspects of the future. Ever felt the same urge? Planning would be way easier. Less juggling. Fewer conflicts. Less stress.

Or not.

It’s easy to view the unknown future with fear. On a personal level, I’m living with extreme uncertainty regarding two unrelated life decisions. But just when I think it would be easier to deal with if I knew what was coming, I’m reminded of the lowly onion. Slicing an onion reveals a series of rings. And peeling those rings, one at a time, slowly but surely gets you to the core of the vegetable.

After experiencing a severe loss 7 years ago, I started obsessing about the future. Oh, how I wished I knew what my tomorrows would bring. Living alone after decades of married life, I worried about the possibility of future health issues. With the advent of the COVID pandemic, how would I care for myself? Or what if I needed surgery for other reasons?

Even as I obsessed, I knew Who I belonged to and that I could trust my heavenly Father. And so I pushed my fears of the unknown aside. Fast forward six years later, in the span of eleven months I needed—and experienced—six significant surgeries under general anesthesia. And during this period I was reminded of the truth about grace.

When Does God Give Grace?

God’s grace is what He extends to us in His goodness and kindness. It is His undeserved favor. As Christians, we most often speak of grace related to our salvation: saving grace, that salvation is an unearned gift. But grace is not limited to the provision of our salvation.

Grace is also what God gives us to equip us for all our life experiences. The sustaining grace of God enables us to navigate life’s ups and downs. It equips us to respond to success with humility and to bear up under trials and suffering without becoming discouraged. But there’s a catch. Grace is not given in advance of the need.

So when we worry about tomorrow’s potential troubles, fear can paralyze us because we haven’t received grace for events that haven’t yet occurred. Jesus reminded us of this when He said, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34 ESV).

As Jeremiah wrote, God’s compassions are “new every morning” (Lam. 3:22-23). His compassion and grace are lavishly provided as we need them for each new day, but not before.

Fetal Position or Faith?

I saw the principle of “grace for today, not for tomorrow” play out in my own circumstances. Back when I was obsessing about the future, had I known I would experience six surgeries in eleven months, I would have been tempted to curl up in a fetal position and stay there.

But when the need actually occurred, God lavished His grace on me day by day through all the surgeries and recoveries. He provided precious friends who went out of their way to provide the support I needed. I was able to not just survive the trials, but to thrive as I trusted Him day by day and gratefully received His help through friends who were His hands and feet in my life.

God gave the ancient Israelites manna in the wilderness after the exodus from Egypt. But He graciously gave them only enough to meet their needs day by day. He did the same for me. And He will do the same for you.

Can you recall a time when God gave you the grace to respond to trials as they occurred rather than in advance of their occurrence?
How do those memories help you with fears that may plague you about your uncertain future?