Is God’s grace enough?
Have you ever struggled wondering if you have truly been forgiven? Have you ever felt like your sin was different or worse compared to everyone else’s? Do you ever feel like you continue to ask God for forgiveness regarding the same things over and over again?
I definitely have felt all of these things.
At training camp a few weeks ago, we spent a lot of time talking and reflecting on past hurts and emotions that we have not fully moved on from or processed. Through discussions with leaders there and squad mates I came to realize I continue to feel as if I am not 100% forgiven when it comes to mistakes I have made. I truly believe that God makes us new in his image and forgives us when we repent for our sins, but I realized at training camp that for some reason I believed this for everyone else but myself. For years I have struggled with the feeling that I must continually ask for forgiveness on the same things that happened long ago.
We also learned a lot about the difference between shame vs. guilt. Shame is from the enemy as it draws us away from God and other people and we typically feel we are unable to talk about what we are ashamed of. Shame makes us feel alone and like we are the only people who have ever experienced the hurts that we have. On the other side is guilt. Guilt draws us closer to God as it gives us conviction which then leads us to repentance. Hearing this definition, I realized in the moment that I had been experiencing shame for so many years.
As I began to reflect on the things that I felt shame for, a question was asked: “do you not believe that Christ dying on the cross was a great enough payments for your sins?”
Wow, that hit me pretty hard. It got me thinking, who am I to think that God’s grace is not big enough for me. As I processed this question, I realized that Satan has been attacking me for years by giving me shame for my past hurts and rather then them pulling me closer to God through guilt and conviction, they had begun to become things that I thought made me unworthy of God’s love.
After recognizing all of this, I realized that I need to grow in the spirit of conviction and not the spirit of shame. I also need to remember that God’s grace is enough. When I feel attacked and begin to feel that I am unworthy, I want to immediately remind myself of God’s love for me and recognize that the feelings of doubt and feelings that I am not made brand new in Christ’s image are from Satan, not God, as the Lord will never use shame against us.
So going back to my initial question: “Is God’s grace enough?” The answer is: YES! It most definitely is.
Here are a few verses that can serve as reminders of how great God’s grace is for us:
1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
John 3:16 – “For 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.”
Ephesians 2 8 – For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God”
2 Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here!”
