Hey y’all!
I have prayed for you & I am so thankful you’re here!
I’ve been thinking a lot about grace lately and as soon as I decided that’s that this post would be about, songs and verses about grace kept popping up everywhere!
First, let’s talk about what grace means! Even from a secular dictionary it has a definition particularly regarding “Christian belief.” It says that grace is the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.
That’s a lot to take in all at once. Read that definition a few times if you don’t feel like you have a very good understanding of what grace means!
Now that you have a definition of grace, it is so important to understand that we don’t deserve God’s mercy and grace. The bible literally says in
Romans 3:12 (NIV) “… there is no one who does good, not even one.”
Why does it say that? Because we have a sinful nature, our flesh, and there isn’t one of us that hasn’t sinned. This is a wakeup call and it is humbling. Sometimes, people who have been Christians for a long time begin to feel righteous and better than others. Guess what. God’s truth says: “THERE IS NO ONE WHO DOES GOOD, NOT EVEN ONE.” Thankfully because of God’s great love for us and his grace we are saved and redeemed through Him.
Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV) 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
It is by GRACE you have been saved. Not only have we been SAVED by grace but because of it we have been made alive in Christ. Verse 8 goes onto say:
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
We have been saved BY grace THROUGH faith and it is a gift from God. I would say so considering his grace never runs out. God will forgive even the most wicked of men if they confess their sins to Him and ask Him into their life. But does he just forgive him once and then you better not mess up again? NO. God’s grace is as everlasting as His love.
From here, I want to cover two very important points with you about God’s truth and His plan for His people.
- Do not cheapen God’s grace. While it is everlasting don’t abuse the fact that we are forgiven.
- Just because we are God’s redeemed people doesn’t mean there won’t be suffering.
- God gives us grace and we are to give grace to others.
Now let’s back it up by scripture!
The first point we are going to talk about is cheapening God’s grace. You may have no idea what this means so let’s dive in. We know that God’s grace is everlasting just like His love. His grace isn’t going to run out even though we don’t deserve it the first time. It is a crazy concept to wrap your mind around, I know!
Cheapening God’s grace means purposely doing something (sinning) because you know that God is going to forgive you for it. That is kind of unwrapping God’s gift and throwing it in the fire. It is important for us to recognize that no mistake is too big for God’s forgiveness but that we must be making daily (hourly) efforts to not live in sin.
Romans 6:1-2 (NIV) What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
Referring back to Ephesians 2:5, we have been made ALIVE in Christ, but this verse says we must first DIE to our sin. You can’t continue to wallow in your sin and reap the benefits of God’s gifts.
The second point is that even though we are God’s people, he still allows suffering. Let’s talk about good ole Paul for this part! I am going to paraphrase this passage, but it can be found in 2nd Corinthians 12:7-10!
Paul had been seeing visions and getting messages from the Lord and to humble him he was given a “thorn in his side” to torment him. The bible doesn’t specifically say what this thorn was but Paul pleaded with God three times to take it away from him and Jesus responded:
2 Corinthians 12: 9 (NIV) “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Paul then goes on to say that he rejoices even more in his weakness than his strength
10 “For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
So why does God allow suffering in this life? Because His grace is enough for us. The redemption of our soul should be sufficient for us to go through hardships. Why? Because we have life ETERNALLY through Christ Jesus.
I guess a bargaining chip could be we either walk a perfect life for maybe 80 years in this world and then suffer eternal damnation or we could have a life filled with love and struggles both and rejoice in eternity with Christ! I know what my choice is…
Paul went on to say, “for when I am weak, then I am strong.” What does this mean? When we try to do things on our own, pride creeps in. But when we humble ourselves and invite God’s power in, we are stronger than we could ever be on our own.
Okay, third and final point! Ya know how God’s grace and forgiveness is everlasting. News Flash: we are supposed to treat others the same! We aren’t to forgive once but over and over again. No really, Peter and Jesus actually had this talk:
Matthew 18:21-22 (NIV) 21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
Remember, this isn’t a literal amount of times we’re to forgive someone. In Verses 23-35 Jesus went on to speak of a parable. And to paraphrase, if we aren’t going to forgive others then God won’t forgive us!
So, set down your pride, ask God to soften your heart, and forgive! Even if we feel they’re undeserving… We are undeserving of God’s grace and He has to willingly given it anyway!
Thank you so much for reading! Sorry this was a little longer than usual! You may or may not have noticed by I will only be posting once a week now instead of twice due to college kicking my butt this semester!
When I feel extremely overwhelmed and my anxiety starts creeping up my throat, prayer and reading scripture has helped me tremendously!
Love you all dearly!
If you’re new here!
I have a “follow” button for my posts! If you’re on the mobile version scroll to the very bottom of the page and you should see “Follow Me via Email” enter your email address and hit “follow” and you’ll get emailed notifications any time I post!
If you’re on a computer, the “Follow Me via Email” area will be closer to the top and on the right-hand side of your screen! Simply enter your email and hit follow!!
At the top of the page, directly under the “menu”, there is a link to my social media! I would love to get to know you better through these resources! And I would love to pray for any specific needs you might have! Feel free to message me on any of my social media accounts, use the contact tab, or email me at: yourpathwaytopurpose@gmail.com
Pathway to Purpose 
Ahhhhhh I loved, loved, loved, loved, loved this post! I think it’s so easy to be bogged down by guilt when we know we have sinned and we forget that no one is perfect and that God shows grace on us!! Thank you so much this is EXACTLY what I needed to hear right now! I’ve had such a hard week and I literally feel like God has spoken through you to me thank you so much! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Once again ur words bless my very soul. Keep it up!!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
“When we try to do things on our own, pride creeps in. But when we humble ourselves and invite God’s power in, we are stronger than we could ever be on our own.”
Yes and YES! I remember feeling like I could do it all. It is very problematic when we get to that mindset that we do it when it seems like God isn’t. Now I am at a point in life where I know I cannot do it alone, and gladly invite Him in. Give Him the front seat to everything going on, and watch how much He will do for You!
LikeLiked by 1 person