It has been a long weekend. Back off to Savannah again for therapy and then rushed back to Valdosta in time to catch the end of the Christian Contemporary concert out at Wild Adventures. Managed to make it back in time to see Sonic Flood and Audio Adrenalin, the two headline bands for the show. But, then we got caught standing in line for 3 hours to get our season passes. Sigh....

Oh well, all was not lost. In the midst of everything that we were going through, I found myself thinking about God's grace. You know, we talk a lot in the church about "prevenient" grace -- the grace that goes before. This is the calling of God in our lives even before we know that God exists. This is that small, still voice that speaks in the depth of your heart while you are still a sinner that tells you that you need a Savior.

As I was thinking of prevenient grace, I got to thinking about Zaccheus, the short tax collector who was saved by Jesus. If you remember the story, Zaccheus was too small to see over the crowds when Jesus was passing by and so he scrambled up a fig-sycamore tree to look over their heads at Jesus. When Jesus got next to the tree, He looked up, invited Zaccheus down and went to dinner at Zaccheus' house, where he was promptly saved along with his whole household.

Talk about your prevenient grace! Not only did Zaccheus hear about Jesus' presence in the city and feel led to come and see Him as He passed by, but God grace was seen in other ways. For instance, it was no coincidence that that tree was there by the side of the road for Zaccheus to climb. God had planned this encounter with Jesus so long ago that He had caused a tree to grow in that exact spot, with limbs low enough for Zaccheus to grab, and strong enough to hold Zaccheus until Jesus passed by. Prevenient grace at it's best!

What about in your life? How many times have you found yourself waiting in lines or held up at stoplights and then seen an old friend you haven't thought of in years? Or all of a sudden thought about God in your life? These are all examples of God's prevenient grace working in your life -- working to call you into a deeper relationship with Him. Who knows, maybe God has even planted a tree for you to climb just like Zaccheus. Spend some time today looking for examples of God's grace around you.