Guilt is a powerful force, but also a destructive one. We need to accept God’s grace as the gift that it is, forgiving ourselves as God has already forgiven us.
“I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them.” (Hosea 14:4)
Guilt is a sticky, slimy emotion that none of us enjoys. It sits like lead in our stomachs and squeezes our hearts. We feel it intensely, and usually as a result of a poor decision.
Whether it’s something we said, did, or thought—when we do wrong, we feel guilt. That guilt and knowledge are what lead up to God, asking for forgiveness. And that quest for forgiveness is what leads God to offer his grace and mercy.
But what if we don’t feel we deserve His grace? What if we feel that our sin is too great, too painful to be forgiven so quickly?
“Just a prayer?” you ask, incredulously. “I just have to ask?”
No, you think. It has to be harder. It should be harder.
How to accept God’s grace even when it’s undeserved
I don’t know your sins any better than you know mine. But I do know one thing. Asking for forgiveness and getting it—just like that, just because I believe—is too easy.
It seems impossible that such a powerful God should ask so little to alleviate the sin on my heart and yours. To provide us with mercy and grace just because we want it. Shouldn’t there be more?
When Jesus died on the cross, He ended a long tradition of sacrifice. He became the sacrifice. And so when we believe that Jesus dies for our sins, we need to believe He died for all of them. All of mine. All of yours.
God no longer needs us to sacrifice animals to atone. He doesn’t ask us to sacrifice ourselves either. The guilt that says that God’s grace isn’t enough, that we need to do more to get forgiveness isn’t coming from God. Satan is speaking that lie into us. He is trying to undermine the great gift God gave us with Jesus’ sacrifice for our eternal souls.
Don’t let guilt keep you from clearly seeing the glory of God, His power to wash away sins, His love that never ends, and the grace He freely offers to us all.
As you start your week, remember that you are a child of God, beloved despite your imperfections and sins. Bring your troubles to God and He will wash them clean. If you ask, He will always answer. We are truly blessed.
Have a grace-filled Monday!
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