Your Safety Net of Grace
“My grace is all you need….”
2 Corinthians 12:9a (NLT)
One of the most impressive bridges in the United States is the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. The roadway of the Golden Gate Bridge is 250 feet above the water, and the suspension towers at their peak are 750 feet high. In the 1930s, when it was under construction, a rule of thumb on high-steel bridge construction projects was to expect one fatality for every one million dollars in cost. With a projected cost of 35 million dollars, construction engineers were anticipating over 35 fatalities from falling. You can imagine with construction at that altitude, along with high winds, dense fog, unpredictable weather, and occasional seismic tremors in the Bay area, the Golden Gate Bridge made for one of the most dangerous places to work in the world. Considering all these factors, the project moved along at a snail’s pace, that is, until the bridge’s chief engineer, Joseph Strauss, arrived. Strauss did something that had never been done before. At a cost of $130,000, he made this construction site the first in America to have an innovative safety net that was suspended under the bridge deck and cantilevered out some 10 feet beyond the sides of the bridge and 15 feet on either end. With a greater sense of security, the workers increased their speed and productivity, completing the bridge before schedule and one million dollars under budget! But greater than that, Strauss’ safety net saved the lives of 19 workers who fell while working on the bridge. All 19 men walked away without a scratch! They called themselves the “halfway-to-hell club.” Some have called that net The Grace Net.
God offers to us a safety net called Grace! When we lock our faith onto the Bridge of Jesus Christ, our bridge to God, He provides for us a grace net that will protect us when we fall. Even greater, His grace can keep us from falling by securing our relationship with God. It’s not a relationship based on performance or works. He accepts us by grace, just as we are! The Bible says, “God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT)
But that’s not all! His grace not only saves us but sustains us throughout our lives from the moment we believe until eternity! The Bible says, “Even if good people fall seven times, they will get back up. But when trouble strikes the wicked, that's the end of them.” Proverbs 24:16 (NIV). When Jesus Christ is your bridge to life, you have a safety net called grace. His grace net will always catch you. It’s not a license to fall, but if you ever do, know that His grace will keep you. Get back up and get back to what He wants you to do.
Another important part of your daily devotional is spending time with God in prayer. The Woodlands Church Prayer Board lists prayer requests submitted by our members and provides a way to send them some encouragement by using a button on the page to let them know that you prayed for them. Whether you use the Prayer Board, or pray from your heart, the goal is to build the habit of incorporating prayer into your quiet time.
Need prayer yourself? Let us know by submitting a prayer request on the Woodlands Church Prayer Board.