Scuba Diving…

Several years ago, I went scuba diving with my sons. Although it was not the first time we’d dived together, and it certainly would not be the last, this particular trip was special, because it was the trip in which Joshua, my younger son, earned his certification as a scuba diver. His older brother, Harden, and I were already certified, and we accompanied Josh on one of his first open-water dives, which are part of the certification process.

On this particular open-water dive, we were in the Bahamas at a place called Shark Junction. We dove to about fifty-five feet, where we were surrounded by hundreds of sharks—all kinds, but mostly Caribbean reef sharks. Now, Josh was about ten at the time, and the boy has never known fear. During that dive, I stayed right behind him. Although I managed to stay just out of his sight so that he didn’t think I was hovering, I was there every second, watching him closely, making sure he was always within reach. (I knew my wife would not be happy with me if I didn’t bring him back in one piece.)

When one particularly large shark swam by him, he reached out to touch it (their skin is like sandpaper and cool to touch), and I pulled back on his tank to keep him away from it. I think that’s a perfect picture of prevenient grace; the Lord’s hand is always on us, even when we don’t realize He is there. God’s prevenient grace is the grace that goes before us even before we have any conscious, personal experience of God. He is chasing you. He is holding you, pulling you, wooing you to Himself. (Just like I held and pulled Joshua away from the shark and toward myself.)

We are surrounded by this prevenient grace of God. Romans 1:20 speaks of it, in fact: Forever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. (NLT)

Do you understand what the Apostle Paul is saying? All of creation is shouting the story of grace and trying to help us see that there is a divine designer. Through His prevenient grace, God is holding you and pulling you toward Himself.

Note: This is an excerpt from Dr. Spencer’s new book, Free For All, (4 Things God’s amazing grace can do for you). It is a #1 “New Release” and a Top Ten “Best Seller” on Amazon!