Grace to Keep Going
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt out of the land of slavery.”
Exodus 20:2
What encourages you or motivates you to keep going?
If you have given up (or taken up) something for Lent — how do you stick to it?
If you are working on a big project, what is the fuel that keeps you on task?
Sometimes, we can be our own worst enemy. We can listen to the saying “pray as if everything depends on God and work as if everything depends on you” and push ourselves, even punish ourselves to do more, work harder, suck it up, and get across the finish line, no matter the cost. It’s a trap I’ve fallen into many times and I’m sure I’m not alone!
The verse above contains the first words that God states when He gives Moses the 10 Commandments: ten instructions of what to do (and what not to do), a revelation of God’s will and purpose for His people then and His people now.
Yet, the “doing” of these commandments begins with a reminder not of our action, but of God’s.
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of … slavery.” Our discipline and energy to press forward are not about straining to find a way to be a little bit better. The world does not revolve around or depend upon you!
It comes from who God is, what He is capable of and what He has done for us:
He is God. It doesn’t all depend on me.
He has delivered us. God’s grace is enough.
He has rescued us from slavery. We are no longer slaves but heirs, children of God.
Repeatedly throughout the Bible, the people of God are reminded of what God has done for them in delivering them from slavery in Egypt — doing the impossible, doing what they could not do for themselves. So, remember. Remember it does not all depend on you. Remember who God is. Remember what He has done. Remember that the God who has delivered you is that same God today.
