Experiencing God’s Grace

I grew up in the church going to Sunday school classes and later attending as an adult, and I had always heard the word God’s Grace but I never really understood what God’s Grace was until my late twenties. Before you read much further I want to define what God’s Grace is because I had heard the words so many times in church but never quite understood them. God’s Grace is… His ability to give us something we don’t deserve, it’s His undeserved favor. It’s those times we sin and don’t deserve His Grace but because Jesus died on the cross, Grace is freely given to anyone who has accepted Jesus as their Lord. One instance when I received the grace of God in my life was when I was not making the best choices in the way I was living my life, or the situations I put myself in. James 4:4 says, So whoever wants to be the friend of the world becomes the enemy of God. I was choosing to live my life the way the world influenced me and things of the world are an enemy of God. In those circumstances, I could have received death or hurt because that’s what I deserved for living my life in a sinful way but I received God’s Grace time and time again. God kept me protected, that was His Grace. This was happening even before I fully understood God’s Grace. So I encourage you if this is the first time you’re grasping what God’s Grace is, pray and ask God to reveal to you the times you have received His Grace over your life.

God’s Grace was freely given to me when I accepted Jesus into my heart so I was still receiving it as a young adult, but in my later twenties I actually experienced it as it was happening. I believed this happened because in my late twenties I began to really seek a relationship with the Lord, understand what the Holy Spirit is and started building a Godly community. When my oldest son was in pre-k, I experienced God’s Grace through him. Let me say that again, God’s Grace was deposited on my son and he was the vessel God used so that I could receive and experience Grace for my actions. One morning as we were rushing out of the house to get to school/work I totally lost my self-control, because we were going to be late, and I yelled at my son. I knew better, it wasn’t my sons fault but he was the closest person I could blame. Can anyone relate to loosing self-control and taking it out on someone else? Well in that moment I knew I had messed up. So when we finally got in the car and we were on the way to school, I apologized for my actions and asked for forgiveness from my 4 year old. He looked back at me with a smile and said, “I forgive you mom.” In that moment I knew that was God’s Grace. I didn’t deserve to be forgiven for my actions but God used my son to show how easy it is to receive His grace. I didn’t have to beg or plead with my son to forgive me, he quickly forgave me, smiled and we enjoyed the rest of our ride to school. That’s the same way God gives us Grace.

James 4:6 says God resists(or refuses) the proud. But He gives grace to the humble.

If I would not have humbled myself that day in the car, not only would the rest of my day be ruined but I would have never experienced God’s Grace through my son. Being honest when something is our fault, being kind to an enemy, saying, “I’m sorry” first, tithing are all ways we can choose humility. If we choose to be proud then God will resist us according to James 4:6. Other translations say He opposes the proud. I don’t want God to oppose or resist me, I want to fully experience God and His Grace. I want to be experiencing it when it’s happening and not like my young adult years when I was still receiving God’s Grace but not appreciating it. So today let choose to humble ourselves in our sins so we can fully Experience God’s Grace.

We want to thank Bethany Williams for sharing this post.