Slideshow image

Pastor Joe’s mid-week sermon preview: Sometimes the most powerful version of grace is the one that restrains you.
#Grace #LifeOfDavid #SundaySermonPreviews

I wasn’t sure what to make of this when I first read it on Wednesday, so I decided to quiet my overthinking and just wait for Sunday, especially with the mini-series we’re in.

Lately, I’ve found myself writing week after week about what I heard, how I was spiritually fed, how it applies to my life… and then going right back to the same old habits.

But this week was different.

I actually applied it and I want to check in.

Last week, I talked about the lack of spiritual principles in my life, how it’s affected me, and what I was going to do about it. Well, guess what?! I put my words into action, and I had an amazing week.

I was slow to anger and quick to love. I checked my attitude. I lived like a woman of grace and dignity practicing faith, hope, and trust. I turned my will over to God. I prayed out loud every morning with my husband and I surrendered daily.

Today we learned more about Nabal the fool and his wife Abigail. What I took home is this: through God’s strength, and through His grace and mercy, we can help save people. And with tough love sometimes.

When Pastor Keith was sitting on the steps with the GraceLife kids, teaching them about tough love, I couldn’t help but picture 16-year-old Lori hearing that same message, but at 16… Lori wasn’t listening. Back then, Lori was a Nabal.

When my family kicked me out, I lost friends, jobs, literally everything I thought I had. I ended up on the streets addicted and ashamed. Rinse and repeat that story about 4 more times. God orchestrated it everytime and it eventually saved my life.

I know it must have been incredibly hard for my family to make those decisions, but thank God they did. What felt like rejection was actually protection. What felt like loss was actually love. I know it was hard for everyone involved but it saved my life.

Now God can use me to help save others. Now I get to be an Abigail. I can speak up when someone is slipping or falling back into old behaviors. I can reach out when I don’t see them at church or in a meeting. And I can do it all with love, support, kindness, and grace just like Jesus would. #GraceLife

This verse came up again near the end of the message: Proverbs 12:15, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.”

Hearing this verse 2 weeks in a row reminded me of something a professor once said at the beginning of a semester:
“If you hear me say, ‘Write this down,’ it will most likely be on the test.”

Now when I hear Pastor Joe say, “Listen, church!” or when he repeats a verse week after week I pay attention. That’s my cue. Highlight it. Write it down. Take a picture of the big screen. Lean in. Share it!

Because that might be exactly what I need to pass the test I’m walking through right now.

I'm grateful for all the Jonathans and Abigails in my life. God keeps adding the right people to my toolbox. People I need, people I’m learning from, and people I strive to be like.

And don’t be a Nabal.