Page 76 - Grace150 Devotional

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your
father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation,
and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing…and
in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:1–3
When my family moved from Tennessee to Illinois and joined Grace
Presbyterian 10 years ago, we often felt like Abram: sojourners (or southerners).
Just as Abram’s blessings would bubble over into the world around him, our
prayer has been that God’s grace would send us out to preach the gospel year after
year. And yet, many times life seemed to weigh us down—caring for newborns,
losing loved ones, etc. At times, it felt as though we would not make it.
One such time, my wife suddenly ended up at OSF hospital for eight days.
We thought we had lost her. It was one of our pastor’s prayers that turned me
from fear and despair to hope and trust.
We are forever grateful for God’s many blessings such as these, during hard times,
that come through our friends at Grace. Yet also, during the calmer times, we’ve
seen the immense value of dragging the kids out of bed each Sunday to take in a
steady flow of grace through powerful worship and preaching.
Though we are weak, God strengthens us not to be safe and comfortable, but
to answer that same call He gave Abram to go out into the hard places and be a
blessing to others.
Oh God, raise up Your children, despite brokenness and weakness, to go out
with the message of life and draw in more of Your people. Amen.
– Kenny Hayes

DAY 69 grace 150