Romans 5:2
“Through HIM, we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
Malawi: a country where the people are more friendly and accepting than I ever expected. Last month in Zambia, my team experienced so much as we traveled from place to place, following the Lord’s leading, trusting each other fully, and meeting people all along the way to share with.
The word my team experienced in Zambia was “abundance”. In every way, God provided for us abundantly! Whether it was through the contacts we made, the way he sorted out our travel arrangements, blessing us with a Thanksgiving feast, getting to stay in air conditioning and fluffy beds for a week, having sweet tea made for us while working out in the heat… God taught us the meaning of the word abundance.
It brought me to a place of wanting more of God always. Having a consistent hunger to know Him more and just experience more of Him during this short time on earth.
But if I could use one word to describe my month in Zambia, it would be grace.
It’s a word I’ve never really come to understand or thought much about.
Who needs grace when you’re perfect?
Why show grace to others when they will always mess us, hurt, or upset you?
Grace is something that doesn’t make sense. Which can easily lead you to dismiss is from your thoughts instead of accept and experience it with a sense of wonder!
Throughout the month, I felt God filling me with grace towards those around me that I had never felt before. It was like God came in and rewired my thoughts from being disappointed with people to reacting with complete grace and understanding. It’s like no matter what the people around me did, all I could do is smile, hug them, and encourage them in whatever way God led me to.
God’s grace is such a mystery!
It comes and comforts when mistakes are made. It covers all ill intentions. Anything that is lacking.
The more I experienced acting out this grace towards others, the more I was able to understand God’s heart for us.
He is ALWAYS filled to overflowing with eyes of grace towards every single one of us.
When we learn to see each other that way, we can live in so much more freedom and joy!
God’s grace brings freedom.
So why did I not feel completely free myself?
I realized that I had never learned to give grace to myself.
No matter what I did, what decision I made, what I did with my time, what I said in conversation, what I chose to eat or wear… there was always a voice of condemnation that followed.
I was being robbed of life by regretting everything and not walking in grace. It’s like I couldn’t trust God’s grace to be enough, so I kept striving to achieve perfection. This has been my life-long default: to be perfect. And if I can’t be, to at least come off that way and to criticize myself relentlessly until I do things better.
Here’s the free news: GODS GRACE IS FREELY GIVEN. It doesn’t work in way that we have to earn or be good enough for.
So I had to learn that experiencing God’s grace is the only way I could come to have permanent freedom, not through perfection.
That’s what I want you to know.
That God’s grace is literally right in front of you- being freely extended to you every day. While you work and work to do everything to self-imposed standards, your Savior looks on you filled with grace and love and simply say, “just receive my love! That’s all!”
Maybe it doesn’t make sense to you. Maybe you like working hard at something, so you can’t let go of the idea of just receiving his undeserved grace. But I HAVE to tell you- you will never know full life until you accept what He is offering.
God’s voice never speaks out of condemnation!
God always works out of grace!
That decision that you made- to go to a certain school, to major in that subject, to date that person, to take that job…
Is covered by God’s loving grace.
You didn’t mess anything up. You didn’t mess up your life. Because God’s hand is so much stronger than your decisions. He will work in them, but not be set back by them. You can’t “mess up” His plans with your decisions.
When you have died to yourself, you no longer live. Christ LIVES IN YOU. So that means all your decisions are made with God, through God from that point forward. That means that every decision you make, Christ makes with you and walks through with you!
So stop fearing making a wrong choice in life!
You already have the victory in Christ Jesus! If you belong to Christ, He is now part of you! That means that all that you do, you do in agreement with the Holy Spirit living inside of you.
Mistakes and all.
You will mess up… A LOT.
But the difference is that the mistakes no longer condemn and define you. The mistakes no longer reign over your mood and your perspective of your self.
You are defined by the gift of grace that God has given you.
You are defined not by what you do, but by what Christ did on the cross FOR YOU.
Knowing all that you would do, every decision you would make, every thought you would have, every imperfect day you would live…
He showed you a grace-filled love that will set you free.
…And sometimes that freedom makes you jump off a bridge 😉
