Paddling by the Grace of God

(Read Ephesians 2)

Last December, my daughter helped me plan a trip of a lifetime for my wife to celebrate a milestone Birthday. I won’t mention which milestone. On Christmas morning, we revealed the basic itinerary with her. Then, Covid hit back with another wave. Then, Putin’s Russian army invaded Ukraine. So, by the time the Olympics were over, my wife and I weren’t even sure if we would be going to Europe at all this June.

Were we concerned about the trip? You bet. We purchased travel insurance and made sure that all of our excursions and travel expenses were either refundable or changeable. Beyond that, we knew that our ultimate fate and even the insignificance of this trip was in God’s hands – so why worry? Yeah right.

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
2 Corinthians 5:7

I’m not a big bucket list person. For me, it puts too much trust on our temporary life on Earth and not enough on our eternal home in Heaven. Anything crossed off on our list here will be a million times greater, more beautiful, and more glorious in Heaven. We watched more news than we normally do, and my wife stayed abreast of all the Covid-19 restrictions both in the U.S. and abroad. She joined several FaceBook groups to be informed about where we were going and to get others’ recommendations. We figured at lease we would have some clue about the likelihood of going on our trip. Were we worried, yes. But it never overtook us or weakened our trust in God.

In 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul explained to his audience that he and the other apostles were confident they would be happy in Heaven after their deaths. They were aware of the Earth’s temporary boundaries and lived according to the truth of the Word of God. The word “sight” in this passage isn’t really referring to vision, but how things “appear” to us while we’re living here. You can always tell someone who is walking by faith and it’s not by what they say or what they wear or look like. It’s an inner voice that gives them calm, that generates love between them and everyone they encounter.

Walking by sight means you’re relying on your own interpretations and experience. Walking by faith means, you’re not afraid of the next roadblock. Walking by faith means that all your trust and understanding is leaning on the object of that faith — Jesus Christ.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Ephesians 2:8-9

Paul’s message in the verse above wasn’t solely directed at his audience in the 1st Century. If so, he probably would have said, “we” have been saved. Instead he wrote, “you.” That’s us! That’s you and me. It is a transitional message that was true 2,000 years ago, is true now, and will be true for another 2,000 years.

Three weeks before our milestone trip, both my wife and I got sick. It struck her first, then a week later it was me. We wondered if it would prevent us from traveling to another country, let alone getting back to America. We did everything we could to heal. Of course, we prayed about it. We didn’t pray that God lift the sickness from us, we prayed that if it’s His will to allow us to go, we were ready. In Romans chapter 8, it says that, “In all things God works them for the good of those who love Him according to His purpose.” We don’t know His purpose for us, so despite the setbacks, we would have accepted a different course from God.

Well, we both were healthy by the time of our departure. We took the red eye to Italy. The trip was going to take us through that beautiful country north to the Alps, then home from Munich. A few hours after we landed, more setbacks. Two sites we had planned on visiting were closed, and a ticket agent told us that we wouldn’t have time to climb the domb at the Vatican based on our arrival time. But undeterred, we moved ahead. Despite the intense heat, huge lines, two detours around Vatican city, and no sleep, we made it. We managed to see and do everything we planned. It was everything we had hoped for!

The next day, more amazing views and yes, more setbacks. This time, it was going to prevent one of us from going on an expensive tour we had already paid for. We trudged ahead and kept a sense of humor about it. Two hours later, we were both on the tour together witnessing the sunbaked grandeur of ancient Rome at sunset.

In Ephesians 2, Paul makes it clear that believers are saved by God’s grace through faith and not works. We can never ever do anything to earn salvation because we will never be good enough to deserve it. For that matter, Paul doesn’t say we’re saved by faith — that would be works because it would point back to something we did. Rather, we’re saved through faith. We are saved by Christ’s work on the cross, the target of our faith, not the act of believing in Him.

The motivation behind my life as a Christian is fueled by God’s grace alone. I didn’t receive God’s grace by anything I’ve done, so I certainly can’t boast about receiving it. This is also true of our experience on our vacation. We encountered problems at the chaotic train stations, hotel issues, and more scheduling conflicts, but somehow, someway, every single thing turned out to be an incredible, uplifting blessing.

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
James 1:6

In looking back at our trip, I can’t recall praying that God make things better for us. I don’t remember ever freaking out and saying, “C’mon God, please fix this!” But He did. One evening after another setback turned mountaintop experience, my wife said, “You know, every single thing that looked like an obstacle has worked out.” She was right.

A day later, while on a short run in the Alps, a thought occurred to me. It’s not that things worked out for us, it’s that we trusted in God and they just happened to have worked out. Things in life don’t always go this way. We were on a streak of green lights on a busy highway, they just worked. We didn’t ask God for easy street and we expected nothing in return. We had faith in the One we trust in.

This was a trip of our dreams. We had saved for this for years. Yet, we never felt entitled to God calming the seas for us. We should never pray, “God, work this out.” God delivered His gift of grace which wasn’t included on a single invoice for our vacation. On our last day in the Alps, we were given an hour-long break to visit the beautiful cathedral where parts of the Sound of Music was filmed, stop into some shops, grab a bite to eat, or visit a nearby lake. As an avid paddleboarder the thought of paddling around on that limestone-green water was killing me. But, there wasn’t time to even see if they rented boards there. “We have trusted and so far, things have worked out. Have faith,” my wife said.

“OK, I’m going to talk to that girl over there who looks like she works here,” I replied. Not more than 3 minutes later, I was paddling on this unbelievably beautiful mountain lake.

All winning streaks come to an end. It’s life, stuff happens. We will get sick again, our bodies will eventually fail us. Disappointments will greet us. For my wife and me, we learned such an important lesson — to trust in the object of our faith. Expect nothing in return, and watch Him put us on a mountain lake by His most amazing grace.

“You don’t gain God’s favor by doing good. It’s the favor of God that transforms you into one who joyfully does what he says is good.”
Paul Tripp

Key Application:

• Read Ephesians 2. Look for Paul’s emphasis on being saved through faith as a gift rather than by our service.
• Pray that we surrender to God to work things out according to His purpose — not ours. By doing this, we will be better followers of Jesus and we’ll be better disciples here in this world.
• Think of times when God has worked things out for you. Then think again. There are probably more times than we remember. Then, thank and praise Him.

Where else in your life can you live out the teachings of Christ? Look for next week’s Devotion.