For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift –

Ephesians 2:8 CSB

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.”

I know it’s not a Christmas hymn, but as I prepared to write today’s devotion, I couldn’t stop humming “Amazing Grace”. Though I mostly listen to and sing modern praise and worship music, some traditional hymns will forever hold a special place in my heart and “Amazing Grace” is one of them.

Why?

Because I’ve come to realize as I mature that grace is something I am in desperate need of every moment of every day and it amazes me that God gives me His grace day in and day out.

There was a time when I thought that grace was a one-shot deal.

It was in grace, God’s unmerited favor toward us, that God chose to send His one and only Son to walk among us, to teach us, to die on the cross to pay our sin debt, and to be resurrected three days later that we may also be resurrected to live with Him for eternity (John 3:16; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8).

For much of my life, I thought this one event was the extension of God’s grace, that once saved by believing on and professing Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, I had received all the grace that was available.

But what I found as I grew into adulthood was that, despite accepting Christ as my Savior and being “saved”, I still struggled with selfishness and worldly attitudes and actions (aka, sin). I allowed guilt and shame to distance me from my home church and then, after a move, spent several years out of church all together, and in that time, rather than rely on God’s grace, I came to rely on myself. If I could just climb that ladder, get that promotion, do more, be more, then I could make up for my struggles. If I stayed busy enough, I could ignore that I had struggles, especially when those worldly attitudes or actions (sin) turned out to bring me worldly success.

Oh friends, what a slippery slope it is when we begin to rely on our own works or abilities more than we rely on God’s grace!

It’s a story I’ve shared in part in other posts, and a testimony for a longer writing some day I’m sure, but for today, in short, my lack of understanding of God’s grace led me down a hard road. I became a hard person in some ways, very performance-oriented, and there are relational consequences from those years that I’m still trying to figure out how to mend or at the very least walk well in today.

Returning to Ephesians 2:8, I recognize now that I missed out on a key part of God’s grace, it’s right there in the middle of the verse:

“and this is not from yourselves”

It’s addressed in verse 9 too:

“not from works, so that no one can boast”

Dear heart, we are saved by grace; it is a GIFT from God. Not something we can earn or work toward, but something freely given and not just given once, for eternal purposes, but constantly, for daily purposes. God’s grace is given in-the-moment, as we struggle, when we fall to temptation, every, single time we are selfish and sinful.

God’s grace, His unmerited favor, has eternal saving power (Praise His name!), but it also has daily saving power. God extends His grace to us daily so that we can ALWAYS approach His throne, the throne of grace:

“Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.” – Hebrews 4:16

Through God’s precious gift of grace, we have eternal access to our Heavenly Father. He hears us in our distress, even when our distress is of our own making, and He is gracious to rescue us, comfort us, relieve us, teach us, and more. He sees us at our absolute worst, and He continues to love us unconditionally, to pursue us constantly, to draw us faithfully to Himself.

Like all of God’s good and perfect gifts, God’s gift of grace draws us closer to God Himself.

Because of His grace, we don’t need to run or hide when we are in the wrong; we can come to Him for forgiveness, for help and guidance to find the right way again.

Because of His grace, we don’t have to work for His love or try to perfect ourselves to please Him; He loves us just as we are; we can come to Him just as we are; He grows us up as we lean in closer to Him.

How have you experienced God’s grace in your life?

How does meditating on our daily need for God’s grace lead us to draw closer to Him? How does it lead us to draw closer or relate better to others?

I’d love to hear your thoughts! Feel free to comment below!

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