What’s in a Name?

Click Here to listen to River of Grace by Christy Nockels

So, What’s in a Name?

Why the title, “Living in Rhythms of Grace”?

I believe that God uses His children to inspire and encourage one another and to help us stay reminded of His truths.  He desires to fill our lives with the Light of His Hope so that we might shine brightly for Him and that He would be glorified.  A couple of years ago, my daughter and I had the privilege of meeting singer/songwriter, Christy Nockels. We were so touched by the overflowing presence of God’s Spirit through both Christy’s heart for worship and the beautiful words of the songs she sang. One song in particular spoke directly to my heart and I sensed the prompting for a title!

Rivers of Grace.

There is a place, far from this worried world

Where freedom awaits, that burden you’ve got locked inside, how we tend to hide

So won’t you go there with me

Down to the riverside, Where the water runs free

And you can let your heart swing open wide,

Won’t you swing it open wide

‘Cause baby, you aren’t meant to carry such a load

Lay it down and we can watch it go

Down the river of grace, the river of grace

And all it takes, is a little bit of faith

And Jesus comes, and carries it away

Down the river of grace, the river of grace

Here’s the beautiful thing, that river runs inside you

And you can go anytime, and it’s there your Savior waits for you,

He’s waiting there for you

Cast your every care, cast them way out there

In the river deep, in the endless supply

And feel your heart rise up, from that cleansing flow

So clean and free, so true and alive

So true and alive, so true and alive.

Hearing those words brought life to my soul, reminding me of the beautiful Grace, that never-ending supply that is all-sufficient to meet my every need.  The reminder of truth found in John 1:17, “For the law was given through Moses, but GRACE and TRUTH came through Jesus Christ.”  Grace and Truth go together…we can’t have one without the other…they are inseparable….they live in the embodiment of the character of Jesus Himself.

As a child of God, His Word reminds us that we’ve been given the promise of His Spirit, the guarantee of our inheritance. (Ephesians 1:13-14) Jesus in His amazing, unconditional love for you and I stepped down out of His place in heaven, and humbled Himself by coming to serve, taking on the form of our humanity and demonstrating to us the power of His Grace.  This Grace….such a mystery to our finite minds!  This Grace….something I feel so undeserving of, so unworthy to be given….

BUT GOD…..

 GOD, in His Amazing Grace, would love you and I SO MUCH, that He CHOSE to send His Son as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, to pay the penalty that we could never pay on our own.  Yes, in my flesh, I choose to go my own way, determine my own plans, stand for my own justice and “carry loads I was never meant to carry”.  And through it all, Jesus stands, calling to me to “cast my cares on Him” because He cares for me.  He calls me to live in the power of His Spirit, His endless supply of Grace in me, His Truth in me……He washes over me and cleanses me with this abundant, beautiful Grace. It’s by this Grace that I am set free….given the privilege to live the abundant life of Joy and Peace that is truly and completely only found in Jesus.

The “River of Grace” painted such a visual picture for me….the meandering, gentle ebbs and flows of a river…..the bending, twisting turns of the flow of waters moving to and fro over the changing terrain….isn’t that a picture of life?!….Life in its myriad of different seasons, trials and triumphs, losses and gains.  Without the constant flow of living water, the river runs dry; without my constant connection to the One, Jesus, who supplies the LIVING WATER, I run dry.  Jesus said, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, “From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.”

There’s a rhythm here that I want to lean into…a rhythm that causes my heart, mind and soul to want to stay yielded to….to stay reminded of the truth that no matter what season I’m in, there is ONE who is carrying me, calling me, loving me and offering to me His Grace….His Grace that causes me to live, truly alive and free!

It’s here that my soul wants to find rest.  It’s here that I continue to want to learn to live my life.  That I would spend my days, learning to live in these rhythms of His Grace.

All for His Glory,

Stacey