How Do You Accept Grace?
Message: I'm having a very hard time accepting God's grace in my life for past sin. It feels debilitating and I'm questioning so much about my identity and whose I am. I'm scared. I'm scared that I'll never be good enough to receive God's grace and to have peace.
Response: Thank you for sharing this. It cannot be easy carrying around these obviously heavy burdens. Accepting grace can feel impossible when we do not view ourselves as worthy. But my dear, you are a child of the one true King. He created you and loves you so much He was willing to die for you and He believes you are worthy of His grace, even when you don't.
2 Timothy 1:9 "He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time."
Sometimes we have this false feeling that we need to continue punishing ourselves in order to truly be repentant of our past. Unfortunately these thoughts lead us to carrying around our past and feeling like you said, reminding us that we can never be good enough.
Did you know that the Merriam-Webster definition of Grace is "unmerited divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sanctification." You are right, you will never be good enough to enter the kingdom of heaven. It is only through His grace, which NONE of us deserve, that you are saved and given the gift of eternal life.
Psalm 103:10-14 tells us – “He has not punished us as we deserve for all our sins, for his mercy toward those who fear and honor him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west. He is like a father to us, tender and sympathetic to those who reverence him. For he knows we are but dust.”
When we worship such a loving God it can be hard to internalize how us sinners could have a place with Him in the new kingdom. But just as earthly parents love their children unconditionally and would do anything to see them have good lives, how much more does our Father in heaven want that. We just have to take His hand and accept it.
This isn't easy and I wish there was something I could say to make all your pain and uncertainty go away. But please know that with time and distance you will begin to heal and gain perspective on whatever it is you have been through. In the meantime I urge you to keep seeking God for comfort and ask Him to give you the understanding and/or peace to accept His grace, learn from your past, and look to your future.
