Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a GREAT weekend!
This week’s devotion is “Grace Notes” written by Charlotte Cooper! Please take the time to read as she shares her heart with us today!
Make it an AMAZING week!
🌺🎶🌺🎶🌺🎶🌺
Grace Notes – Charlotte Cooper
This is a picture of a magnet I had on my fridge, a little gift I received at a ladies’ retreat in Pella, Iowa, two years ago. For the longest time it stayed in perfect condition—until a couple of months ago when one of my dear children knocked it off. It cracked and chipped, never to be the same again.
At first I wanted to be upset. But when I looked at those five letters — GRACE — I could only think of my heavenly Father. I’m so glad His grace doesn’t break. I gave my child a hug, said “it’s ok,” and off they ran to play, while I sat there thinking about God’s wonderful grace.
We’ve sung about it. We’ve memorized verses about it. Some of us have even named our daughters after it. Most of us know the definition — “unmerited favor” or “undeserved kindness”. Webster’s 1828 lists 20 definitions as a noun and 3 as a verb but grace is so much more than a dictionary definition.
Here are three ways the Bible shows us how special amd amazing grace is.
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1. Grace is Crucial for Salvation
Ephesians 2:8 (KJV)
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.
I’ve often heard it said: Mercy is not getting what you deserve, while grace is getting what you don’t deserve. Salvation is completely undeserved — yet God offers it freely and lovingly.
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2. Grace is Crucial for Serving Jesus
1 Corinthians 15:10 (KJV)
But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
I work hard to keep our home clean and welcoming for when my husband comes home. But with five children, I almost always fall short of my goals — dishes undone, crumbs on the floor, toys scattered about. Yet when my husband walks in the door, he doesn’t focus on the mess. He’s happy just to see me and our children. He gives grace by overlooking the messy house. He just wants to spend time with me.
That’s exactly what God does with me. He overlooks the mess that I am and just wants to spend time with me. I can’t help but think of Mary and Martha — Mary chose to sit at Jesus’ feet and hear from Him. God gives us grace to draw near to Him, but we often make excuses or choose other things instead of Him.
1 Peter 5:10 (KJV)
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
If we are serving Jesus, trials will come — but so will His grace.
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3. Grace is Crucial in Trials
2 Corinthians 12:9 (KJV)
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
This month my husband and I celebrated nine wonderful years of marriage. We’ve shared many joys, but also many trials. Four years ago, shortly before our fifth anniversary, my husband got COVID really bad, and I wasn’t sure he was going to make it. Even our church family didn’t realize how bad he had gotten. At night, after busy days of caretaking my husband, 3 year old, 2 year old and 3 month baby, I would cry myself to sleep I even had to think about funeral arrangements and what would have to be done if he didn’t make it. Our doctor told us he didn’t know what else he could do and that he would probably be sent to the hospital by ambulance to die alone on some ventilator.
Those days were “just make it through the day” hard. Thankfully God answered my prayers and between God’s healing and the doctor trying one more thing (I begged the Dr to try anything he could think of because my husband said he wouldn’t die alone in the hospital so he wouldn’t go) my husband’s health started to slowly improve, and he pulled through — but it hasn’t been without complications, almost half of the next two years were sick days, and many tears have been shed. Our health has finally found some recovery but still not like it once was before Covid, But through it all, God has given grace.
In these years of health, life and ministry struggles, it’s easy to grow discouraged. At times I’ve found myself asking, “Lord, after all we’ve done to serve You, why would You allow this? Have You made a mistake?”
But no — God makes no mistakes. These trials grow us. They help us relate to the trials others are facing. They teach us to pray for one another and encourage one another. And through it all, His grace has been sufficient.
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Grace Notes
As I read through the dictionary definitions of grace, one stood out:
“In music, graces signify turns, trills, and shakes introduced for embellishment.”
In other words, extra notes are added to make the music feel fuller and more beautiful. Classical music is especially known for these “grace notes.” Some might hear them and think they’re mistakes — extra notes played before the “right” one. But they are not mistakes. They are planned, perfected, and placed at just the right time.
I play piano for our church, and I’ll admit, I add plenty of grace notes — most of mine are mistakes! But not God. God makes no mistakes. He’s composing something beautiful with all the “grace notes” in our lives.
The grace notes in our lives may look like flaws or missteps to us, but in the hands of the Master, they make the music fuller, richer, and more beautiful than we could ever imagine.
Let God make beautiful “grace notes” in your life today.
https://www.sappsolutely.com/devotions/grace-notes-charlotte-cooper
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