The Grace of God

Author:Tan Shuen Yi

I was born into a Christian family and knew God at an early age when I accepted him as my Saviour and Lord. I knew that I, a sinner, was unable to break free from sin and need him to overcome sin and death. In my early years of being a believer, I would attend Sunday School on Sunday mornings in church. I was, however, simply going through the motion of going to church. Whenever I heard messages regarding the hardships of life and the power of God, I always felt that these messages did not apply to me as I did not experience many troubles in life. The grace of God seemed distant from me.

It was only during the years in my secondary school, did I begin to experience God and His power. As I was fairly interested in music, I decided to join the school band. I did not know that I was going to be facing a great deal of stress. Long hours of practice and an impatient conductor were the perfect recipe to dishearten budding musicians who were not yet familiar with the instruments. It was a very stressful period for all of the band members. As a result, a few started to quit the co-curricular activity as they felt that they could not keep up with the expectations. I decided, however, to stay on at the advice of my parents and after careful thought and prayer.

By the end of the second year, most of us were familiar with their instruments. Due, however, to the rules of my section, I was only allowed to practise with my instrument at the second year. This was also the instrument with which I would be playing for the next two years. Thus, I had to learn the instrument from scratch again. Initially, as I was unable to keep up with the difficulty of the songs, I would be reprimanded time and again by my conductor. For the parts that I could not play right, the instrument would be taken away from me and given to my senior. I felt bitter and started questioning why God placed me in such a difficult position.

God’s grace, however, was sufficient. Only looking back now did I realise that he had provided encouraging section mates and supportive parents who always spurred me on to push myself and practice. I felt that they were used by God to encourage and build me up so that the discouraged me could get back on my feet after every practice. I did not notice this as I was too occupied with being bitter regarding my situation. Without the grace of God, I, as a weak person, would have been much more bitter about my situation. I might have even complained and sinned during such harsh times. Now, after experiencing the powerful and gracious hand of God, I truly understand why preachers and Christians feel so strongly when they talk about the grace of God.