Are You Missing the Grace Because It Is Masked by the Hard?

I struggle with certain people, but those relationships are actually good for me. 

I would rather certain circumstances not happen, but in the end, they are exactly what I need. 

It’s what I call “hard grace.” Those things we’d rather not do or walk through, but must. Those people we have trouble being around, but need to.

Hard, oh so hard! But yet grace in the purest sense.

Always What We Need

Not what we want, yet what we need.

Grace is never earned.

Grace is often unexpected.

Grace is sometimes masked as unwanted.

But grace is always what we need!

Grace is never earned, often unexpected, sometimes masked as unwanted, but always what we need! Share on X

That difficult person teaches us understanding.

That endless day produces patience. 

That special needs child grows love. 

That impossible circumstance drives us to our knees and draws us nearer the Creator. 

That impossible circumstance drives us to our knees and draws us nearer the Creator. Share on X

Hard Grace

Much of grace appears hard on the surface, yet underneath, drips sweetness. Do we miss it by defining it one way?

Is it only grace when we get out of a difficult situation?

Is it only grace when we are surrounded by like-minded Christians; all who have easy-to-get-along-with personalities?

Is it only grace when life plays out the way we expect? 

I don’t think so. I think the most meaningful and powerful grace happens deep in the trenches.

The most meaningful and powerful grace happens deep in the trenches. Share on X

A hand to hold.

A glimmer of light in the middle of a dark tunnel.

A community who mobilizes during devastation. 

A smile breaking through the thickest haze.

A sliver of sky in the fiercest storm. 

Don’t underestimate this hard grace. It’s necessary to shape hearts, minds and souls. It’s the salt that cures the meat and the heat that refines the silver. 

This hard grace: it’s often what the Father uses to transform us into a clearer image of the Son. And that’s just where each of us should want to be.

Hard grace: it's often what the Father uses to transform us into a clearer image of the Son. Share on X

Struggling with something? Don’t discount the hard as something to discard; it’s serving to usher in the grace. 

Don't discount the hard as something to discard; it's serving to usher in the grace. Share on X

“And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope.” Romans 5:3-4

Reflections: Have you recognized the graces in the hard places of your life? How might you better prepare yourself to notice them in the future? 

Linking with Kelly Balarie for the #RaRaLinkup. Click on the image to enjoy more inspiration. 

More than 4 years of counting and I’ve surpassed 4,500 gifts in Ann Voskamp’s Joy Dare! What a blessing! Here are numbers #4,537–4,557. Read my entire list by clicking here.