Have you ever meditated on God's
grace for you? How about...how you got where you are today?
To have this beautiful and
everlasting relationship with Him, to have the open access for prayers and
praises to God at any given time through our Savior Jesus Christ--is
all by the grace of God. Grace translates to me as God's
unfailing love, His mercy, His patience, and His loyalty to us and for
us. Grace reminds me of God sending His one and only son to live and
die on that cross for us...for all our sins.
We have all made mistakes,
sinned, and while we are believers in Christ, we are still sinners. Boy, is
that a paradox or what?! We sin on a daily basis, maybe by going just a few
miles above that speed limit, or by telling a white lie for the purposes of not
hurting anyone's feelings, or by telling a patient that they will do okay under
anesthesia and surgery to curb their anxiety before they fall asleep even
though we know they may not do so well, and so on and so forth. Yes, we are
sinners. And, no, we are not perfect! But, what is perfect is God's redeeming
grace for us all! Are we deserving of it? No. Not at all.
God's grace by definition
according to Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry (CARM) means the
unmerited favor of God to those who are undeserving in other words unworthy. It
is also defined as "not a created substance of any kind, but as the love
and mercy given to us by God because God desires us to have it, not because of
anything we have done to earn it" (Our Wesleyan Theological Heritage,
2015). He desires us to have it--to have His grace and
to understand it. When we come to an understanding of this divine topic of
God's grace, we also come to a greater appreciation for what He has done
for us compelling us to continually praise Him.
Because we are not deserving
of God's perfect grace and we receive it anyway, one blessing after
another, is why I would like to remind myself this New Year and always of
His beautiful grace and how it has changed me and continues to change me. I am
convinced that this is the way to keep me closer to Him in everything I
do. It is a guideline that outlines the path for me--to make decisions
that are according to His perfect will, to renew my thoughts and ways that
bring me closer to Him and that pleases and glorify Him.
Let's pray:
Lord, this year, I am committed
to focusing on Your grace. You are The God of the universe who
continually blesses me with one thing after another after another even though I
am not deserving of them. I pray that Your grace will motivate
me and encourage me to spill it over to my husband, my daughter, my
family, my friends, my patients, the people I work with, and
perfect strangers when I go out into the world. I pray that You give me deeper
and a more profound understanding of Your grace, Father. For it is by Your
grace that I have been saved. Thank you for loving me.
In Jesus' name, Amen
