May mercy, [soul] peace, and love be multiplied to you.--Jude 1:2, AMPC

In the wee hours of this morning, the LORD reminded me of many times He has provided a gracious replacement.

One of those times was when I was a new supervisor for a large shipping company, and during a phone meeting, my boss' boss suddenly decided I should fly out that night to a hub at a much larger city. I didn't have a problem flying, but I was single divorced mom then, and it was my preschool daughter's  birthday party that night. 

I didn't know what to say, except, "....Yes, Sir...." and I had many mixed emotions.

But my faithful Daddy God, Who sees every moment of my life at once (picture the LORD sitting in the middle of a wagon wheel, where He can see details of every "spoke" or year of my life at once, from the start to the finish of it), knew that was going to happen--so He sent a gracious replacement! 

That morning, we'd had an unannounced visitor; a manager from another hub to decided to drop in and check on how I was doing as a new employee.  He seemed kind, and while we were working together checking in shipments, I revealed to him my mixed emotions about having to miss my young daughter's birthday party to suddenly fly out. 

"I will take your place," he said quietly. "I will get the details and change the flight, and you can have your little girl's party." 

I was so thankful and amazed at the same time! 

"Are you sure?" I asked him. "That would be great!" 

"I'll tell your manager, and go ahead and make the arrangements in a bit." 

I was overwhelmed with the faithfulness of my Daddy God! Wow, God! You are always there for me! Thank You so much!

I don't know if he was a Believer in Christ or not, but sure enough, he talked to the manager, and just a few minutes later, I heard him on the phone changing the flight. 

The LORD knew, and the LORD cared; the LORD my Daddy God sent a gracious replacement!

I also remembered that, when my husband and I went to the church to be married, we had taken grape juice and crackers to take Communion as our first official act as husband and wife. 

We didn't know till after we were married and saw that, for the ceremony of us taking Communion as one--as the new creation the LORD had just created by fusing our lives--that something must have happened to the juice and crackers, for someone had noticed, and there was a gracious replacement; we now had a full goblet of grape juice instead of a tiny cup, and the crackers had been replaced with a huge hunk of fresh, delicious bread! 

There are many more gracious replacements in my life, such as every time I started to do something and someone else said, "I'll do it for you," or when I needed to get something and they said, "I'll get it for you." There are so many examples!

However, the very best example of all is when our LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ, gave His life as the meek Lamb of God to be crucified on the cross (John 3:15-17)--even though He never sinned--to pay for the wrongdoings of every person that would ever be conceived in the womb (Psalm 139:13)! 

For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness]. -- 2 Corinthians 5:21, AMPC

For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning.--Hebrews 4:15, AMPC

He chose to take on the likeness of human man and live the life that we would have been able to live if Adam had not sinned. He is our perfect Example! Then He went to the cross and now it is finished--the sin debt has been paid so that, when we ask God to forgive our wrongs and declare that we believe in what Christ did for us on the cross, by taking our sin and giving us His righteousness--we can have the assurance that our spirits will live forever in Heaven with the LORD when our bodies die, and we can have days of Heaven on earth now! Hallelujah! 

Thus Abraham believed in and adhered to and trusted in and relied on God, and it was reckoned and  placed to his account and credited as righteousness (as conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action).--Galatians 3:6, AMPC

Thank You, LORD, for Your gracious replacement!

Ask the LORD to reveal to you the many times He has performed a gracious replacement, and thank Him--then watch for more! 

Through books, courses, presentations, service, prayer, worship, and more, Tonja and her husband live to exalt God. Her series for girls, P.O.W.E.R. GIRL ADVENTURES, is now out (books I-V), along with LEGACY; YOUR HOLY HEALTH: VISIONS OF THE KING, and more. See the "River Rain Creative" YT channel.