We were enjoying a long Holiday weekend in Beijing, China when I got a phone call from my boss, telling me I had been promoted! I knew the promotion list was supposed to come out, but I didn’t expect to be on it. It wasn’t something we particularly needed and it won’t have a huge impact on my pay now or when I retire next year, but it is a chance to praise GOD and will be a blessing for the remainder of my life. I can’t explain why I was selected over others. I see this as another example of the unmerited favor (grace) of GOD on me and my family. I have seen this many other times in my life.
Living in small town, I wasn’t prepared to venture out into the world after graduating High School. All I needed was to find a good job and I would have stayed right there. I didn’t find that job and a recruiter convinced me to join the Air Force to get the training and experience I needed to make a good living. That opportunity led to a 23 year career and opened me up to many more blessings I didn’t deserve.
When I was a child we frequently moved and my parents divorced when I was still a teenager. My brothers and I were shuffled between different homes in the Foster Care system. Those experiences during my formative years left me rather shy and I lacked self-confidence. The Air Force (and the LORD) sent me to the Philippines, where my co-worker introduced me to his step-cousin-in-law. I was immediately smitten with the beautiful young lady, with the big ole smile. That was the beginning of another of GOD’s unmerited favors in my life. Filipinos think Susan hit it big when she married me, but I know I am the one that got a treasure. I found the love I needed and someone to care for. Susan “straightens me out” when I need it or encourages me when the going gets tough. That has given me the confidence to overcome obstacles and succeed. She spoils me rotten, is a great mother to our daughter and now a loving grandmother. Her support is another gift from GOD and the reason why I have made it this far.
After retiring from the Air Force, I had my government job and we settled down to enjoy a “normal” life in Texas. GOD had more unmerited favor waiting for us and surprised me with a job offer from the State Department. My other government job looked like it might end and so I accepted. We had some challenges along the way, but we lived in or visited the capitals of the world and made wonderful friends everywhere we went. My higher salary will enable us to enjoy our retirement in Texas and share some “unmerited favor” of our own.
Why is all this favor “unmerited” when I worked so hard? The simple truth is, I deserved to die for my sins, but “GOD so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). I accepted that precious gift and became a child of GOD. All the favor I receive is not because of what I did, but because GOD gave His son and JESUS paid for my sins on the cross.
Wayne Lance (2015) – That’s Good News to Share!