Enough Grace on Groundhog Day

Happy Groundhog Day! I know most of you are leaving work early to celebrate. Don't you wish God would provide us a groundhog? We need something from him that allows us to see what lies in the future. We want to know what will happen next. It's just too scary to trust him for tomorrow. Funny thing is, regardless of how much we can reflect on the past and see his providence, we still can't seem to leave tomorrow in his hands.

John Piper refers to something called "Future Grace." It's the concept that we can see his unmerited favor to us in the past and trust that this unmerited favor will persist in the future. Faith in this "future grace" is what we all need when we are scared, lonely, depressed, or disappointed. Not unlike the Israelites making their journey from Egypt, we must not forget his past provision. This is the basis of our belief in his future grace.

Here's where future grace meets us this week at The FOM. There are lots of things we cannot control. We can't control the sound board crashing, we can't control who comes, we can't control video bulbs going out, etc. Mostly we can't control God's Spirit. His meeting us there this week is the basis for everything we want to see happen in the lives of people who come to FOM environments - transformed lives. But as we look back on the last two years, we can depend on his future grace. There is no question that he has opened doors and led every step of this journey. Not because we were unwavering in our obedience, but because his grace is enough to cover our lack of faith and lead us in the paths of righteousness.

This week will will open elevation with a song that is timely. "Great is your faithfulness oh God. You use the weak to lead the strong. You lead us in the paths of your salvation.... Your grace is enough for me." Let's celebrate his faithfulness this weekend. Let's celebrate his past and future grace. Let's release the spirit of performance and make this Sunday an offering to him - this is our spiritual act of worship.