Nobody’s perfect.
You and I don’t always make the right decisions. Our entire lives are spent learning and growing, and when we look back on our childhood, we see our errors plainly.
We remember crashing our bikes and scraping our knees and elbows. In a split second… what seemed an innocent time of play turned into a trainwreck of pain and agony.
Later in life, the bike might have become a relationship with the wrong girl or boy. You made mistakes. They made mistakes. You each turned the wrong way and crashed…
More pain. More agony.
It’s interesting how God gives us physical representations of spiritual things so we can understand them better… like Jesus using parables to explain much deeper concepts.
Right now, we’re going to use your bike crashing, bad relationship memories as analogies – because these experiences are such GREAT examples of our walk with God. We may not be perfect, but don’t beat yourself up too badly about that.
Shame can be a tool of the enemy, used to bring you down when God’s path for you is UP. Remember, failure is part of growth, whether you are learning to ride a bike or walk with God.It is okay that we fall sometimes. The important part is that we:
DON’T GIVE UP!
Proverbs 24:16 says, “for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.”So keep getting back up and know that you are covered by His grace. He knows you aren’t perfect… but He loves you perfectly… and so He affords you grace during the journey.
Ephesians 4:7 says, “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”How much of a portion?
Ephesians 1:7 says, “In Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”I don’t know what you’ve heard… but God’s pretty rich…
We can’t be proud of our part in God’s grace, because we can’t claim we did anything. What a great thing that is!
Because it means that we are no longer judged by our works (which are imperfect) and are instead judged by the perfect sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.
Take note of 2 Corinthians 12:9, which says, “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”…and don’t be shy to ask for God’s grace, by allowing shame to overtake you and separate you from moving forward in your walk with God…
Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
One last thing to remember…
DON’T TAKE GRACE FOR GRANTED.
In Romans 6:1-4, Paul says, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?””By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?””We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we may too have new life.”
I hope this message finds you well… and if you need grace (like I often do) just remember…God’s got you… and He always has…
Sometimes a message of grace is just what we need.
I know… because the day I wrote this I was struggling with my flesh. Yep, writers aren’t perfect either! 😛
But, that’s another thing about our walk with God: If we never had any struggles, we wouldn’t have much to share with one another – and it would certainly be a lot harder to help each other out… don’t you think?
If this encouraged you, please share it with your friends. It is a great way to give my wife and I support – while edifying and encouraging your friends.
May God bless you!
