God's grace no matter how life turns out

“So, no one told you life was gonna be this way?”

It’s a rare case, indeed, where everything you’ve ever dreamed of has fallen perfectly into place. The job you love. The beauty queen wife, or millionaire husband. The immaculate two-story home in the best neighborhood in town. The exotic vacations all over the world. Or whatever else your heart desires.

How’s life turning out for you so far? Yeah, I thought so. I’m guessing the “Friends” theme song opening line probably applies to most of us.

Who could have anticipated how that accident or health issue would take life in a completely different direction? Who would have known the company would downsize like that? Who would have thought your “till death do us part” spouse would have left you with “four hungry children and a crop in the field” (to borrow another lyric, from the legendary Kenny Rogers)?

Friend, maybe you’ve had some bad times, lived through some sad times, but this time the hurtin’s for real. If that’s you, let me lovingly point you to the One who knows your pain, who feels your hurt and is able to heal like nothing or nobody else. His name is Jesus. And He’s able to turn your mourning into dancing, your despair into gladness, your suffering into praise, and your ashes into beauty.

How? In a word: grace. The grace of God truly is amazing. It can save a wretch like me. It can find the lost. It can open the eyes of the blind. It is, as Puritan Pastor Matthew Henry put it, the “free, undeserved goodness and favor of God to mankind,” ultimately and beautifully displayed all that Christ accomplished for us on the cross and in His resurrection victory over the grave.

Do you want healing for your hurting heart? God’s grace is sufficient in your time of weakness, for our God pours out His favor on those who trust in the work of Christ.

Author Jerry Bridges said it this way, “Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.”

Friend, today is the day of God’s favor. In Christ Jesus there is grace upon grace. And it’s available to you now, even in the midst of your hurt.

So, maybe life hasn’t turned out the way you wanted – or maybe it has. Either way, we are all in need of the grace of God. And when we turn in faith to the Lord Jesus, we find life abundant and eternal, and far better than anything we’ve ever dreamed.