Are You a Candidate for Grace?
“Go and learn what this saying means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matt. 9:13 NET).
Who are the perfect candidates for grace? Are you eligible for God’s grace? How do you become eligible? Jesus, the revelation of God’s grace, made the statement above that He “did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Grace did not come for the righteous, those who have it all together, in perfect state and condition. Grace came for those whose lives are broken, messed up, fragmented disintegrated, and crushed by sin and the affairs of life. These are the eligible candidates for grace!
The same grace continues to work with us after we get saved in the brokenness of our early Christian lives to mold us up into the full, mature believer. When your life as a believer gets fragmented, broken, and smashed by sin, Satan, or the pressures of life, remember that the same grace that brought you in is still available. God takes pleasure and delight in bringing beauty into the ashes of our lives by His grace. The purpose of grace is to change the ashes of humanity into beauty. Learn to allow God to bring healing and restoration to any area of brokenness and bleeding in your life, whether that be your ministry, finances, relationships, or health. Whenever you find yourself in a situation that makes you ashamed and you know you do not deserve God’s favor, then remember that this is the perfect scenario for grace to bring beauty from ashes! Do not make the error of trusting in yourself rather than God when you fail. The difference between believers who stand up after they fall and those who fall and remain fallen is a focus on performance rather than God’s grace.
MEDITATE
Ponder what Jesus meant by His statement above. Put yourself in the scripture, and see what He says about you.
APPLY THE WORD
The scripture above implies there is nothing God will withhold from you because of you. Have you disqualified yourself from the grace of God in some way? Is there any area in your life where you have secretly disqualified yourself from grace? Take a step today and come back to the throne of grace!
PRAY
Pray that God will help you never to disqualify yourself from grace.
Recommended
- Justification By Grace
- The mystery of justification by faith
- Is grace a license to sin?
- Grace Labors in Us
- Growing through grace
- View All Deshen Daily Devotionals
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