Wednesday; January 10

As a man was riding along an inner city street in his carriage he looked down to see the poverty that surrounded him.  From his perch he witnessed, first hand, the hardships of the afflicted.  Touched by the plight of so many, the prosperous man summoned his compassion and said with a sigh and a prayer, “There, but by the grace of God, go I.”.  Rather than condemning those who didn’t have, he praised the God who had blessed him with what he had.
How close have we come to losing everything?  Whether it was our physical health because of disease or injury … our financial independence because of poor management or a depressed economy … or even our solid emotional state of mind because of stress or crisis many of us may have been closer to losing it all than we would have ever imagined.  Since it never happened we may not be able to look back and identify the specific date and time, but who knows how close we have been to a life-altering hardship.  It was by the grace of God’s will and protection of His hand we avoided collapse.
Many people who are currently struggling in life stared out much the same way we did, but something happened to them along the way which lead them to the state they are in.  For some, it may have been by their own choosing, but others have been impacted by the negligence of total strangers.  Some bear the physical, mental or emotional scars of an accident or an act of nature beyond their control.  I will not pretend to explain why it might happen to one and not others, but the truth of the matter is that many of us have been or potentially are just one incident away from losing our lives of comfort and control.
The point to this observation is two-fold.  First, let’s not be too harsh with people who are facing issues in their lives, we may not know their whole story.  Second, let’s praise God for the blessings and protection He brings to our lives.  Who knows, maybe there, but by the grace of God, go I.
Think About It!

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