Life at the Lillie Pad

Mar. 12, 2008
That Saved A Wretch Like Me

Last night I was driving home from my Toastmasters meeting- a meeting which did not go well. They said I did fine with my second speech, but I most definitely didn't "feel" fine. I felt like I was going to die from nervousness. I felt like a lot of American Idol contestants must have felt last night, when you just don't do well and you really don't know why. I had a lot of questions for God. I felt hurt. I felt disappointed. I felt confused as to why sometimes I can get up and speak without all the nervous hoopla and other times it's in paralyzing fear.

Anyway, it was dark and I was alone with my thoughts. In the quiet, stillness I started softly singing Amazing Grace. And then I got to the part that says that saved a wretch like me. Wretch. That word caught my attention. Notice the song doesn't say that saved the wretch I once was. No, it says that saved a wretch like me- a present tense wretch. And isn't that what we are without the Lord? A wretch. Apart from Him we are nothing and we can do nothing of value in this world. Even when we get saved, the only good thing about us is Jesus. We're still a wretch, a saved wretch, a wretch that's being changed and conformed to His image day by day, but if you take away the Jesus all you have left is a mess. I don't mean this to sound degrading in any way, but it's just a reminder of how much we need Him- for everything!

I'm in one of those seasons of life when the Lord is showing me little things, selfish parts of me. Thankfully, He doesn't throw all my faults in my face at once and overwhelm me into utter defeat. No, it's like peeling the layers of an onion. You peel back a little of the skin and you see a bit of selfishness that you didn't know was there before and it makes you cry. So you submit it to God and move on, believing that He will continue working in you to make you more sensitive to others and less concerned with self. Then He peels another layer and the process repeats.

This sounds like a bad thing. Au contraire. It's the kindness of God that reveals our selfishness because what He reveals He also heals, if we only submit it back to Him. I'm so grateful that God sees the wretch we are, but He doesn't leave us that way. He works in us and with us to make us more like Him. To see ourselves for what we are is a really good thing, but better still is to see God as He really is- a loving Father who helps us as we grow and mature and seek to be more like Him.

Thank you, Lord, for the grace that saves wretches and sustains them too.

Mar. 12, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by SeekingJESUSnTeachingKIDS

That was really good. I know I am on the right track when I see my desperate need for Jesus in EVERY area of my life. And seeing those areas he wants to transform is such a blessing. Thank you for the reminder and proper perspective.
:>Michelle

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