Accepting God’s Grace as a Young Woman
What is grace and why is it so important in our lives? Grace is an extension of God’s love for YOU. We can’t create it. God already did. Our job is to accept it and walk in it. With God’s grace, we have the chance to be righteous children of God and be better for His kingdom. Without it, where would we be?
So, what does it mean to accept God’s grace? Grace is about accepting what God has already freely given you and applying it to yourself; forgiveness, generosity, mercy, favor. These are all types of grace, but keep in mind that grace isn’t an excuse to keep on committing the same sin.
While we were still sinners, God did what no one else could do for us. He paid the price for our sins so we wouldn’t have to. This was freely given. This is His grace. There is nothing that we could have done to pay for our mistakes. We get no bragging rights. (Ephesians 2: 8-9).
So why can it be hard to accept God’s grace onto us if it was freely given? Sometimes as humans, we think that we must earn everything good in our lives. But God goes against that standard. There was no way to earn God’s grace. His love alone brought Him to the cross. Not anything we could've done. Sometimes, we may not understand how deep God’s love goes for us and we can feel unworthy of forgiveness, favor, mercy, and His kindness. We must keep in mind that God isn’t like us. He’s perfect in all His ways.
God’s grace also overrides the law. None of us are perfect and won’t get it right all the time, but the grace of God makes us whole. For instance, let’s talk about the woman who was caught in the act of adultery. The Pharisees brought this woman to Jesus to stone her according to the law of Moses (10 commandments). Thanks to God’s grace, He forgave her and told her not to sin anymore instead of punishing her. He told the Pharisees that whoever has never done wrong can throw the first stone at her. All Pharisees eventually walked away because they knew they had done wrong themselves so they couldn’t condemn her (John 8: 1-11).
Accepting God’s grace is something that I’m constantly learning to do. I must remember that He already forgave me, He’s already kind to me, and He’s constantly giving me favor. So, learning to walk in this can feel undeserving at times because of my shortcomings. But I must remember who I am; a child of God because He says so. And you may feel the same way.
Here are some tips that are helping me to stay walking in His grace:
Understand Who God is: A big part of accepting God’s grace is understanding who He is. God doesn't want us to be hard on ourselves. He understands that we will fall at times, but getting up puts us back in right standing with Him. (Proverbs 24:16). It's because of Him that we’re able to get up.
Understand What Grace is: The best way to do this is to read and meditate on bible scriptures about grace. (Hebrews 4:16), (Romans 6:14)
Practice Receiving Grace: We must put this into action to get results. Jesus died so that we can live an abundant life. He doesn't want us to live in shame and guilt. But he wants us to learn from our mistakes. His grace allows us to learn from our mistakes.
Practice Giving Grace: Just like God gave us grace, we must give it to others (Matthew 6:12-14)
So, I ask you. Are you struggling with accepting God’s grace on your life? Are you struggling with forgiving yourself or even being kind to yourself? Think about this. If a perfect being like God is already kind to you and already forgave you, why can’t you be like that towards yourself? Sis, there’s so much that God wants to do with YOU, and accepting His grace is a part of walking on this journey with Him.