unmerited

I want to be gracious.

When I am tired, stressed, perhaps a little grumpy, I lose grace. I tend to place certain individuals outside my grace circle. It's not okay. No need to perfectly walk in grace, but at least I could dip my toes in it. Thankfully, grace is wide, welcoming us in all places and spaces.

"The Lord is merciful and gracious." Verse after verse in the Psalms. Who is that directed towards? Me, us, them, the person I didn't give grace to today. I receive it - reminded of His forgiving and loving nature.

When I can't give grace to others, makes it harder to receive it, distancing myself from God. That's the tension with grace, requires a response, a shift. I can't help but live differently and give freely when it's been given to me.

"Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many are forgiven -- for she loved much." (Luke 7:47a)

ask to listen

"Before the shift, we ask, 'What does God want me to do?' After the shift, we listen to what God wants us to become.

Before the shift, we want God to give us more options and open doors. After, we want him to limit options and close doors.

Before the shift, we ask that God would make our decisions successful. After the shift, we allow God to set us apart, so that we might be more like him in our decisions.

Finally, before the shift, we inform God of our plans and ask him to move through our efforts. After shifting from Ask to Listen, we look for what God is already up to in our world, and we listen for how we might engage ourselves where he is already moving.

Yes, God's agenda takes longer than ours. But by asking better questions, we will get more precious answers that will last longer than the quick and easy ones. Instead of praying, 'Lord, what should we do?' we could ask, 'Lord, what is important to you?'"

- Steve DeNeff & Dave Drury, Soul Shift