Why do we feel the need to earn God’s grace? Why is it so easy for us to forget God’s sovereignty? Every time I’m feeling out of sync and life seems to be going all wrong, I realize it’s because I’m not trusting God. I’ve forgotten that He’s trustworthy. Even after all He’s done.
It’s like He’s standing there, waiting for me to notice as He whispers, “Hello? Don’t you remember Me?”
When I’m truly and fully trusting God and His sovereignty, all my worries and concerns go out the window. My life flows like a gentle river, carrying only what’s necessary along with it. This is how God wants us to live. In collaboration with Him. In complete and total surrender to Him. And this is how I want to live, too. So why do I keep falling back to my old ways?
I think often, and unintentionally, we’re caught up in a life of striving. We feel overwhelmed by the demands that are placed on us (even the ones that we put on ourselves). Often this striving is subconscious and masked in the language of, “I’m just trying to do all that God has called me to do.” Or, “I don’t want to miss what God has planned for me.”
In reality, we’re only thwarting the gift of God’s grace. The gift that Jesus gave us, through total suffering and sacrifice.
Why do we feel that we need to earn God’s grace? Can we enjoy a gift if we refuse to accept it? Or if we set it aside until we “have time” to really absorb it? Or if we set a standard of perfection before we allow ourselves to open it? Of course not!
I don’t think we even realize that through our striving, we’re inadvertently trying to remove the title of Savior from Him and put a “Superstar” label on ourselves.
So let’s slow down and make room for the Spirit to lead us. Let’s savor the grace we’ve been freely given. Let’s spend our lives saying, “Thank you” rather than, “Am I worthy?” The more we slow down and actually savor grace, the more wisdom we gain to release the unimportant and steward only what’s necessary. Like a great, flowing river.
It is written, “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” (Titus 3:5)
