My Friend's House Mardi Gras Ball 2016 Hi Couples! Today I want to share a recent story from me and Kristal's experience that illustrates the Grace of God in action. On a Tuesday a couple of months ago Kristal and I were scheduled to lead our first Topical Study of 2016 on the subject "The Importance and Power of Being on One Accord". It was going to be an exciting time of sharing, learning and growing with other couples. There was only one problem...we weren't on one accord ourselves. Ironic, right? Well, I had prepared for the teaching and sent Kristal some very rough notes over the weekend but in reality I really had not included her in the preparations. And I had not shared. As a result, the morning of the teaching we found that we were in two very different places with two differing sets of expectations regarding the content and goals for that evening. The added stress that the teaching was only hours away compounded things and by mid-morning we were in a state of friction, confusion and disappointment. We definitely were not on one accord, and were having trouble getting there.
The quote used in the title of this blog comes from James 4:6. The rest of that scripture says, "Therefore He says: 'God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.'" Admittedly, it took some time over the course of that day, but when I confessed my fault from my heart, humbled myself before God and then before Kristal, God's grace came into the situation in multiple ways. The first was that God helped us come to genuine agreement and understanding regarding our goals for the teaching that evening. The second was God's work in each of our hearts throughout the day that enabled us to come together and reconcile that evening prior to the conference call. The third way God's grace was upon the situation is that besides Kristal and I, no-one else called in for the study that evening.
Why is that an example of God's grace you might ask? Isn't the point of a conference call to have multiple people call in? Well, to be quite frank, while we had reconciled beforehand and were working towards being completely back on one accord, the lack of agreement between Kristal and I throughout the greater part of the day had a direct effect on the teaching that evening. We still lacked unity and it was evident to both of us as we made our way through the study, taking turns sharing. While things that were shared are true, it was not in the power of the Holy Spirit. I say the Grace of God was in action because in His mercy, that experience was only lived and witnessed by Kristal and I.
Some of you may have been thinking we have it all together and don't have any struggles. Well, as you can see that isn't true. However, we are progressing and growing and building our marriage so that whether we are sharing testimonies or areas where we face challenges, our marriage will point others to Christ and help them experience God's fullness in their marriage. That is our goal. As Believers, I believe as long as we remain humble and teachable before the Father, we position ourselves to receive more of His grace, His strength and His empowerment to overcome any area of weakness and be the men and women of God that He has called us to be in Christ. Husbands, I encourage you to do a self-examination and ask the Holy Spirit how you are doing with regard to being on one accord and maintaining that with your wives. Ask Him to help you see your “blind spots”, and then to help you overcome them and draw your wife closer to you. If we as husbands humble ourselves in this way with sincere hearts and in faith, the Father will answer. He will grace you to do it! His strength is perfected in weakness, and His grace truly is sufficient.
Blessings,
Cameron
The quote used in the title of this blog comes from James 4:6. The rest of that scripture says, "Therefore He says: 'God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.'" Admittedly, it took some time over the course of that day, but when I confessed my fault from my heart, humbled myself before God and then before Kristal, God's grace came into the situation in multiple ways. The first was that God helped us come to genuine agreement and understanding regarding our goals for the teaching that evening. The second was God's work in each of our hearts throughout the day that enabled us to come together and reconcile that evening prior to the conference call. The third way God's grace was upon the situation is that besides Kristal and I, no-one else called in for the study that evening.
Why is that an example of God's grace you might ask? Isn't the point of a conference call to have multiple people call in? Well, to be quite frank, while we had reconciled beforehand and were working towards being completely back on one accord, the lack of agreement between Kristal and I throughout the greater part of the day had a direct effect on the teaching that evening. We still lacked unity and it was evident to both of us as we made our way through the study, taking turns sharing. While things that were shared are true, it was not in the power of the Holy Spirit. I say the Grace of God was in action because in His mercy, that experience was only lived and witnessed by Kristal and I.
Some of you may have been thinking we have it all together and don't have any struggles. Well, as you can see that isn't true. However, we are progressing and growing and building our marriage so that whether we are sharing testimonies or areas where we face challenges, our marriage will point others to Christ and help them experience God's fullness in their marriage. That is our goal. As Believers, I believe as long as we remain humble and teachable before the Father, we position ourselves to receive more of His grace, His strength and His empowerment to overcome any area of weakness and be the men and women of God that He has called us to be in Christ. Husbands, I encourage you to do a self-examination and ask the Holy Spirit how you are doing with regard to being on one accord and maintaining that with your wives. Ask Him to help you see your “blind spots”, and then to help you overcome them and draw your wife closer to you. If we as husbands humble ourselves in this way with sincere hearts and in faith, the Father will answer. He will grace you to do it! His strength is perfected in weakness, and His grace truly is sufficient.
Blessings,
Cameron
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