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You're listening to the My Morning Devotional Podcast, episode 1485. Today's devo is called Grace Like Rain. Hey there! We're the Alessis, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to-do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time.
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That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a 5-minute daily dose of heaven. This is the My Morning Devotional Podcast. Happy Friday! We made it. You had an amazing week, I'm sure. I definitely had an amazing week with you, and I pray that these devos have encouraged you and uplifted you. My name is Stephanie, by the way, and we're going to close out this week strong. So let's dive into it. Philippians 4:7 says, And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. You may not know this, but I actually love surfing. I don't do it as often now, but when I was younger, I used to love it. And I would go out to, um, our beach up in Stuart, and I would just surf for hours and hours. And I was actually pretty good at it, not gonna lie. I wasn't amazing, but I, I managed. I managed. I caught the waves. And I jumped off and I kept my surfboard and it was great. And I, I loved it. And there was this one instance where I went surfing, I was surfing by myself and it was this beautiful day, but typical Florida weather within like 3 hours it started to downpour rain. And I was frustrated and I even questioned, should I just get outta the water? Because with the rain you can't see the waves that are coming. You're more slippery on your board and it's not stable. So I thought, man, okay, maybe I should just— let me just get out of the water. So as I'm pedaling to get out of the water and the rain is just pouring down on the water, a wave came up behind me. So I said, oh, I'll just catch this one on the way out. So I jump up on the board and I'm surfing, and I noticed that because of the rain droplets hitting the waves, it flattened the water out, and it almost— it didn't flatten the wave, but it smoothed the wave. And when I started to surf, it felt like I was flying.
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It was like I was gliding on water. It was the smoothest wave I have ever caught in my entire life.
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And I, I just thought, oh my gosh, I cannot leave this.
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I'm gonna stay in the water longer. And if it's pouring down, I don't care.
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I'm gonna keep surfing. And I did. I surfed for like another 2 hours, and it was the best surf I had ever had in my entire life.
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And it was all made smoother because of the rain. And you know, something that I am learning about life recently is we are not guaranteed perfection ever, ever, ever. Every Christian, every godly man and every godly woman, we all have to walk through tough times. You will experience loss, you will feel disappointed, and you will suffer from hurt. But something us Christians are guaranteed is grace.
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You know, the Bible says that he gives us all the peace that surpasses all understanding, which means that for you to feel that peace, you then have to be in a situation that you don't understand. And when you're in that situation, God has promised to give you peace. So just like when I surfed in the rain, I really thought that the rain was going to mess me up.
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I thought it was going to ruin everything I had planned. While surfing. But instead, it actually made my surfing way better. It, it made the waves even smoother to surf through. And the waves were huge. The waves are rocky. The wind was terrible. I was in a full-on storm, you guys. But that rain is what made my surfing experience so much better. You know, when you're in the storms of grief, When you're in the storms of disappointment, of hurt, or confusion, God's grace is like rain, just flattening the waves so you can get through it better.
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And I don't know about you, but when I go through tough seasons, I honestly just want to get to the other side. I will tell myself, "You're gonna be hurting for a couple months, but after those couple months, you will be better." But God says, "Watch how I get you through this with my grace." and then watch how I use this to make you stronger. God doesn't waste one season.
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He doesn't waste one bit of pain. He doesn't waste one ounce of grief. His grace will meet you at your lowest point, and it will get you through the worst days of your life, and his wisdom will help you learn from it. If you're in the storms of life and if you feel that rain downpouring on you and you're not sure why this storm has hit you, watch how God's grace and peace will meet you at your lowest point.
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And watch how His grace will help you glide through these tough days just to help you get through it and to make you stronger on the other side. I pray that this whole series blessed you. I pray that you were blessed this week with my devos.
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And if you're going through grief, if you're going through disappointment, I pray that God will meet you here right now. And in those ups and downs of grief, God will be there with you. And that if you will feel anything, I pray that you feel his presence above all else and that you will know that he's with you. You and that he has a plan for it all. Let's pray. God, we thank you. We thank you that even though life isn't perfect, you are. Even though life isn't good all the time, you are. And your goodness, your faithfulness, your, your love and your mercy and your kindness, it never turns off. It's not a switch that we just turn off. It's always present.
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It's always enduring. Strength. So God, our life is in your hands, and in these ups and downs of life, we know that you are there with us, guiding us every step of the way, and your grace is surfing us through these hard days. And in Jesus' name we pray, amen. So there you have it, your 5-minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend, leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow, we pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.
