I used to fight God. There, I said it. It was long ago, when I was a pastor’s wife, and I resisted that particular role. I just never thought I was very good at it. I didn’t like it, I wanted to get out of it, and I argued with God about it regularly.
But then my husband died, and I had to take over his job, becoming pastor of our church by myself. I learned right then that God will provide grace in every situation of life if we’re willing to follow Him. Overnight He gave me what I call “a dumptruck load of grace” to pastor the church – because I needed it so badly.
And I realized: “You know what? I have a feeling that the grace to be a pastor’s wife was always available for me too, but I fought it. I complained and thought wrongly about it.” That’s when I realized that God provides grace for all of us, for whatever we’re going through. We just have to yield to it and expect it.
Since then, I’ve tried to tell as many people as I can, “God will give you the grace to be you – in any situation – if you’ll ask Him.” I know it’s true. It’s why I don’t fight Him anymore.
When I took over pastoring there were people who looked at me and said, “I could never do it!” But I always told them (because I had learned), “You could if God told you to, because He gives the grace.”
They were looking at the situation from outside the grace, so it looked impossible to them.
Have you ever seen someone going through a trial with a smile, or someone who lives a pressure-filled life and thought, “How are they doing that? I could never do it!”
Well, that’s because you don’t have the grace for it—it’s not your life. You’re looking at it from outside the grace. They have a grace to live their life, even in the hard times.
Expect the Grace
That’s great news, because it means that when it is your life, you can expect to have the grace for it. No matter what happens in your life, God gives you grace for it.
So you don’t ever have to be afraid of whether or not you can handle a certain situation—when you find yourself in it, then there will be grace to handle it. Don’t worry if you think you won’t be able to handle it right now. You’re not in that situation right now! Just believe and know that God will be there with His grace when you need it.
The apostle Paul said it this way: “I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless” (Gal. 2:21, nlt). God has given His grace to you for every situation of life. It’s not your power and ability; it’s His. You have grace to be you! Don’t resist it like I did when I was a pastor’s wife.
Instead, look for the grace. Expect it. Say, “Father, this is hard, but I know You have provided grace for me in this situation. I embrace your grace!”
Excerpt permission granted by Karen Jensen Salisbury Ministries, All rights reserved.
Karen Jensen Salisbury has been in ministry for almost 30 years, and a writer for almost 40. She and her first husband, Brent, traveled as itinerant ministers, and also pioneered two churches in the Northwest.
In 1997, upon Brent's unexpected death, she became Senior Pastor of their church in Boise, Idaho. She raised their sons, Josh and Ryan, through their teenage years into young men on fire for God.
Karen was an instructor at Rhema Bible Training College in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma from 2005 to 2014. In March of 2014 she married businessman Bob Salisbury, and they live in Minneapolis. Now in addition to writing books, Karen travels across the U.S. and overseas, sharing what she has learned about the faithfulness of God through good times and bad.
Her teachings and writings have influenced the lives of hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. Her humor, her never-give-up attitude, her love for God and her strong stand on His Word will bless and inspire you.