I want to share my heart today and get back to the simple message of grace-the reason that I am where I am today, that I started this blog, and that keeps me pushing through. I have not mustered up my own girl power or strength to persevere through this journey I’ve been walking, I have had to fully embrace and understand the gift of grace to carry on.
Grace is at the very root of our testimonies as Christians. Grace is the gift of God in that while we were in our sin, undeserving of rescuing, God sent the gift of grace to us through His son Jesus Christ. Grace is getting what we don’t deserve. Grace is not because of anything I have done, but because of what He did for me. Oh how easy it is in today’s culture to overlook grace. We don’t give ourselves grace, recognize our need of it, and we certainly don’t extend it to others, because we are living in the days of entitlement and “me”. We think we deserve everything the world has to offer. We read books, listen to podcasts, and follow people on Instagram that empower us to be who we were meant to be, to rise up and get what we deserve. I can chase my dreams, reach my goals, release my inner warrior-my, my, my, me, me, me. I’ve got this. I deserve it. I can do it.
Grace, however, says you in fact don’t deserve it, but because of Jesus, you get it. The great news is, because of grace through Jesus alone, you CAN do it, you CAN rise up, you CAN chase your dreams, you CAN reach your goals, you CAN persevere through trials, and you CAN be who you are created to be! The Bible says, His grace is sufficient, and His strength is made perfect in your weakness. It also says, I CAN do all things through Christ who gives me strength. The Bible explains it this way in Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God”.
You see, if we are always trying to muster up this inner strength and power of ourselves apart from Jesus, it will fail us. The message of grace, of the gift of salvation, is so opposite of what we hear in the world today. Our culture is centered around a “me” mentality, yet our salvation must be centered around Christ. Salvation, freedom, and true life comes from dying to your own selfish needs, wants, goals, and decreasing so that Christ can increase and come alive in you. Jesus says in John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” The reference of fruit is that of the things which our life produces. What we have to show for once it’s all said and done. The legacy that we leave behind for others.
I am not writing to debate, I am not writing for the need to be right, I am not at all saying that you can’t step into the greatness of who you are meant to be, to persevere through life’s troubles, and become something more than your problems, but I am writing to say that the only way to do this is through accepting the gift of grace in Jesus and His sacrifice for you. I am writing because I love and believe in you, and I know that Jesus didn’t just die for me to extend His gift of grace, but He did it for you too. I don’t want to see you buy into the lie that YOU got this, because apart from Jesus, you don’t. You got this, because He’s got you! When the rubber meets the road and you are left with nothing but yourself, you cannot just pull it together and do it on your own. Trust me. I’ve been there, and I know you can’t. I have had so many tell me how great it’s been to see me push through this difficult trauma I’ve been walking through and see me come out like I have on the other side of this thing. Yes! I agree, this could have easily destroyed me and went the other way. However, the only way I have been able to push through and be where I am today, a year after our traumatic experience, the reason I have hope for the future, and the point of sharing my testimony through this blog, is all by the grace of God, nothing I’ve done but everything that He has.
