As I’ve shared previously, over the past month or so as part of my daily devotions in the YouVersion Bible App I’ve been journeying through the Book of Psalms, drawing inspiration and encouragement for my own life from the writings authors.
Although I am still not even ⅔rds of the way through them, I’ve come to appreciate that the Psalms are in essence an intricately designed collection of poetry that recounts Israel’s history and God’s covenant promises, and poetically retells the entire biblical story.
A few weeks ago I was reading Psalm 44 in the Passion translation and was struck by the way that they have framed and then formatted the psalm:
frame – Wake Up, Lord, We’re in Trouble.
format – The Past, The Present, The Future.
This Psalm touches on the importance of God’s grace and His mercy and although these two aspects of His persona are often used interchangeably throughout the Bible, they differ in many ways. They are intrinsically linked in essence much like two sides of the same coin. Grace being the gift that we don’t deserve, while mercy is not getting the punishment we deserve.
Sounds a little confusing right! But the thing is as we read in Romans 3:23-24a;
“everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight.”
(New Living Translation)
We will all be judged on how we live this life that we are gifted with, one way or another (in spite of our religious beliefs). And none of us regardless what we have done or what we are going to do will ever measure up to His standard – We will have to give an account for our past, our present and those things that we do in the future.
Yet through it all God through His grace will make us right in His sight 🙂
You see, grace is the gift we don’t deserve and the one which we couldn’t earn by your own merit. It’s like a lotion that smooths cracked skin, or a deep rain after a long dry season. It’s the comfort of a warm beverage, a best friend when you’re lonely, or a soul healing hug when you feel sad.
Grace fills in all the rough parts of our lives and makes us whole and God sees you through a lens of grace. When you see yourself as less, God sees you as more. When you don’t feel like you are enough, God wraps you in grace and sees you as worthy.
Ephesians 4:7 says that “to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”
(New International Version)
He loved you and I so much that Jesus was willing to cover our sins in the grace of His blood and gave us each a seat at His table. When we struggle with identity, we can be confident that God’s grace will catch us.
We are all recipients of God’s grace despite having sinned over and over again, He has shown us kindness and compassion. He even sent his only son so all of us can be saved – an act of grace that we do not deserve.
You see, there is nothing you can do to make God love you more and there is nothing you can do to make Him love you less. This undeserved gift, God’s grace, is simply yours if you choose to believe in His Son who loves you!
He doesn’t see you and I through the lens of our sin, He sees us through the lens of His grace, and when we accept His grace, we begin to grow in His love.
“So let us come boldly to the very throne of God and stay there to receive his mercy and to find grace to help us in our times of need.”
Hebrews 4:16 (The Living Bible)
As I’ve spent some time thinking through my own past, present and future over the past few weeks – I’ve recognised some things that have happened in my life in the past that I’m ashamed of, and other things that I am extremely grateful for.
There are even some things that have happened where all I can put them down to is that God miraculously intervened, even if and when I didn’t want to know or acknowledge His leading in my life.
There are times in my present that even though I have a reasonably strong faith (or so I’d like to believe) I cast it aside from time to time and try to work things out on my own and in my own way, rather than seeking His love and guidance, His mercy and grace.
And no doubt unfortunately there will be times in the future where that will remain to be the case, because I am merely human and tend to fall back into what is the known rather than relying on the unknown.
I pray though that those times will become less and less as I learn to rely on Him and trust in His mercy and grace.
So, what about you? What would trusting in His grace and mercy look like in your life? Where do you notice God’s grace in action? Have you noticed His mercy? When you fully consider the magnitude of this gift, how do you respond?
Maybe you’d like to pray the following prayer: “God of grace, thank You that when I was lost, You found me and when I was ashamed You forgave me, nailing the accusations against me to the cross.” Referencing Colossians 2:13-14
(New International Version)
The life and times of Perry... 