Reflecting on God’s Grace

Author: Helen Man
Translator: Kim Ng

My Story

About three years ago, I broke my left arm when I was staying at my daughter’s house. I underwent a surgery because I also had a severe case of osteoporosis.  The doctor put a long piece of steel with nine nails in my arm to stabilize the broken bone. After a long period of treatment and therapy, my arm had eventually recovered its function. My daughters have then been always reminding me to be careful and slow when moving around. They have also given me an Apple watch for safety. I was told that the watch is able to detect if I ever have a fall and will dial 911 for me. I wasn’t sure how true that was. Yet I have been diligently wearing the watch since then. I feel so blessed that God has given me such caring daughters.

In April this year, I experienced another fall. It was dark out there at nine o’clock at night. I went out of the house to the driveway to dump some trash into the garbage cans. And I also wanted to throw away a pot of dead plant that was 5-feet tall. While I was moving the plant and standing about two feet from the end of the driveway, the pot broke suddenly and I tripped over the giant plant and fell on the ground near the end of the driveway which is about a foot away from the road. 

When I was trying to get up from the fall, a car flew by me just a foot away. I couldn’t manage to get up and while I was trying to think, I saw another car coming. So I pulled out my phone and tried to call my husband, but no one answered. As I was trying to figure out what to do, my watch suddenly turned red and someone spoke to me from the other end: “We believe you just had a fall. Do you want us to dial 911?” While I was puzzled, she said: “We will get back to you in a minute.” Oh! That minute seemed forever! I was there lying on the ground, the watch was shining red and started beeping loudly. Finally, the operator resumed and said: “Based on the signal we received, you are at this location …. Do you want us to dial 911 for help?” I then checked myself and felt that I could still move my limbs and I didn’t see any blood. I seemed alright, just couldn’t get up. I told her that they don’t need to dial 911. She asked me twice if I really declined to get any help. I said sure, then she hung up.          

At the same time, my youngest daughter who lives two hours away from us called me. She has just received an emergency notice. My husband also came out of the house at this time. Then I found that my forehead was bleeding, my eye glasses were broken, and there was even blood on my face and on the bridge of my nose. I also realized that my body was full of pain. We decided to go to the hospital where I got an X-ray and some medical treatments. Thanks to the Lord! They found that there was no internal bleeding; my forehead and other external bleeding were just injuries to the skin tissue. My knee and hand had bruises and were swollen. Amazingly all bones were fine except four broken ribs but I don’t need any surgery. We just let the rib bones heal slowly with the help of painkillers. That’s God’s grace! HE saved me from being hit by a car at the roadside and from undergoing any surgeries for a hard fall like that. I thank God for HIS grace and mercy!    

Thank God Every Day

Reflecting deeper on God’s mercy, every day is indeed God’s grace to us. Being alive on earth is not taken for granted; it is a gift from God. Every living moment should be treasured and lived up to God’s grace. Moving freely with our limbs, eating and drinking with our mouths, seeing with our eyes, thinking with an alert brain, breathing in and out are all gifts from God.  Thanking and loving God every day is just a natural response to HIS love. Let’s love God more by reading the bible, praying daily, being sensitive to God’s will, and faithfully putting into practice what our loving God has entrusted to us.

Thank God for His Amazing Creation   

Atheists believe in “Big Bang Theory” and “Evolution”. May I ask how all the various parts of a watch randomly banged themselves together to create a watch? Why don’t monkeys seek God as human beings do? The Bible has explained that we are created by the all-good, all-knowing, all-powerful, and the one and only true God. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)

The creation is God’s masterpiece of wisdom and stunning beauty, such as the moon and the stars. Astronomical studies tell us that the universe is not an accident. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” (Psalm 19:1)

Even a tiny green leaf was created with love and wisdom. The green leaf uses sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to synthesize food, and that is the process of “photosynthesis”. Green pigment chlorophyll in the leaf generates oxygen as a byproduct during the process. And oxygen is one of the crucial elements that humans and animals rely on for survival. God’s creation is full of wisdom, with harmony and love. There are many other hidden treasures for us to discover, such as gravity, antibiotics, electric current, radio waves, etc. God has provided us with the intelligence to learn about HIS wonderful creation. All that God has created is given to us in abundance to enjoy.

Thank God for His Salvation

God has created a perfect world for man to manage and enjoy but man chose to sin. Yet God continued his benevolence and affection toward mankind after the fall of Adam and Eve though death must come to all mankind. The Bible says: “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27) We are born with sinful nature from generations to generations. How can we set ourselves free from our sinful nature? Thank God that HIS love endures forever. God has sent HIS only son Jesus Christ to the world, who died for us on the cross and resurrected on the third day after his death. God saves us from our sins and gives us eternal life for whoever believes in Jesus. The Bible says: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)  

Thank God for the Holy Spirit

When we believe in God wholeheartedly, not only will God’s forgiveness of sins and the assurance of eternal life be on us, but also the Holy Spirit will live in our hearts forever and be our help at any time. The Holy Spirit gives us comfort, support, strength, and healing so we would not feel lonely and helpless.

Thank God for Family

Our lives on earth may be short, yet God gives us company, friends, family as well as brothers and sisters in God’s family. It is a blessing that we enjoy our company, cherish and support each other with a humble heart during our time on earth. I thank God for my loving family.

Thank God for Adversity

The Bible says, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess. 5:16-18) God is pleased that his people give thanks in all circumstances, whether it is pleasant or not. As we turn our eyes to Jesus in difficult times, we will learn to count God’s blessings with the help of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will comfort us and guide us to know that “God is peace” (Hebrews 13:20). In Jesus Christ, we experience peace and know that God’s faithfulness and grace is always with us. In HIS time, we will see open doors and HE will lead us through the way. Be thankful and know that we are God’s children and as we trust and rely on HIM, there is no suffering that can come to us without God’s permission. The Bible says: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) As we have seen in numerous testimonies in the Bible and in our lives, resilience is often built and faith is often strengthened in tough times.

Response to God’s love

The Bible says: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27) In the grace of God, how can we not respond to love God? We love because HE first loved us. We can also love others by sharing God’s love and spreading the good news, so others can experience God’s love. May we all receive and respond to God’s love!