Mark Shea, Words of Encouragement

God’s Grace Will Hold You Up!

June 10th, 2009 by Mark Shea Print This Article Print This Article ·

Psalm 119:117

Hold me up, that I may be safe
and have regard for thy statutes continually!

There is a refreshing humility in today’s verse that many people get exactly wrong.  Most people think “God helps those who help themselves.”  In reality, God helps those who realize they can’t help themselves.  The first sort of people say, “I will have regard for thy statutes (or at least the ones I approve of) and you are contractually obligated to hold me up, God.”  When God refuses to play by these rules, they declare he has “failed them”.  The second sort abandon themselves to God at once, know their frailty, and seek for God’s strength and support knowing that only he can enable us to do his will.  Peter learned this the hard way: making Big Promises to Jesus at the Last Supper and then discovering what he was really made of before the cock crowed the next morning.  Today, ask God ahead of time for his grace and support that you too may be safe and have regard for his statutes continually.

Mark Shea is Senior Content Editor for Catholic Exchange and a weekly columnist for the National Catholic Register. You may visit his website at www.mark-shea.com check out his blog, Catholic and Enjoying It!, or purchase his books and tapes here.

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