What is Sustaining Grace?

Sustaining Grace is...

NOT GRACE TO BAR WHAT IS NOT BLISS,
NOR FLIGHT FROM ALL DISTRESS, BUT THIS:
THE GRACE THAT ORDERS OUR TROUBLE AND PAIN
AND THEN, IN THE DARKNESS, IS TO SUSTAIN.

-JOHN PIPER
I know that in my life there has been an array of experiences I can think of where at the time I honestly struggled with the 'why would God allow this to happen in my life?" way of thinking. I know I am not the only one to experience trials and follow the same sort of thinking pattern. It doesn't even have to pertain to your life specifically either. Questions such as "Why if God is good does he allow bad things to happen, such as poverty, or diseases such as Cancer or HIV/AIDS?" that seem to effect
large populations of this world can also arise this way of thinking.

Sometimes after periods of time we are able to find a bit of solace in the rough times we had gone through, or even guilt we perhaps experience, through a variety of different ways. One of these ways could possibly be, for example, seeing some reason, big or small, for the experience- some good that can come from it.

I have done exactly this. And though a reason, or a bit of good is comfort for a while, it is never lasting, and the hurt continues to rise. All of this is cause to a lack of my understanding on the Sustaining Grace God offers to us- every single one of us.

A few days ago Kyle emailed me a link to this sermon by John Piper and when i finally had a chance today to sit down and listen to it without distraction, I experienced a remarkable freeing feeling from simply better understanding what Sustaining Grace is.
Re-read the poem John Piper wrote to better clarify this. Isn't that so true?

In his sermon he tells a story of a girl who was in a car crash when she was little, and how if God had not provided her with a doctor in the car behind, with the tools needed to save her life on hand she wouldn't have lived that day. Later on her wedding day, the pastor made a comment on the scars she still had on her neck from the accident and said that her scars were memorials of Gods Sustaining Grace! Reading that made me want to jump up and dance around the room! HOW EXCITING IS IT TO THINK IN THAT PERSPECTIVE?! Sure God could have chosen to stop an accident from even occuring if he could provide all the means for preserving her life-- and you can look on the scars of your life as a constant reminder of something horrible that occurred in your past. OR you can look upon those scars as a beautiful and cherished memory of how God's grace was sustaining. That is not something to feel sorry for yourself about, or guilty about... it is something to sing praises about, dance around your room about... celebrate without hesitation!

This is just a small amout of what John Piper talks about, there is so much exciting things he has to say about this topic, but this particular part was so impactful and exciting to me I just had to share my experience of it. PLEASE check out this sermon, you can read it, listen to it, or both (if you're like me, both helps me to concentrate on it better). Click HERE for the Link... ENJOY! and may God speak to your heart through it as He has done for me.