Rest in Grace---Messages from the Heart

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Our sins have separated us from God, but “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  (1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬‭) The grace of God is the greatest blessing and gift ever, but sometimes we treat it as something we can pick up and put down as needed. The truth is, we need God’s grace daily. 

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭1‬ ‭ tells us that “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”  Flesh. Hang onto that for a second. When we work and live according to the flesh, we are not resting on the finished work on the cross. Jesus paid the sin debt through grace that none of us ever could pay. He felt the wrath of our sins, and His death brought new life to us. A new life to walk with the Spirit and die to our flesh.

Why, as Christians, do we continue to work in our own flesh? Are we trying to earn God’s favor? Are we striving to do enough for God? Are we attempting to be outwardly Christian but not truly accepting the grace that’s been offered? Are we trying to outwork grace? 

Our faith and belief in Jesus’s finished work on the cross will produce good works in us and through us. It’s not the other way around. Our good works do not produce faith and belief; at that point, you’re trying to earn and strive for grace. That will leave you in a never-ending cycle of never doing or feeling like enough. We all have failed, and no one can earn what only grace can give.  “There is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10). When it comes to the standard of God, He is the standard, and where we fail, Jesus picks up. 

As a faithful follower of Jesus, the grace given is enough of a reason for all of our praise and worship. Personally, Jesus set me free from a life of suffering in my mind with an unhealthy relationship with myself, food, and fitness. He took the desire of alcohol out of my mouth and heart. He set me free from anxiety without medication and delivered me from the chains of pride, sexual sin, and idolatry. He gave me an identity that rests in Christ. There is so much more, but those areas had me in a deep, dirty pit, and there was nothing I could do on my own to get out of it. Only the grace of God and the finished work on the cross could pull me out. Jesus healed me in ways I didn’t even know that I needed, and my friend, who’s available for all! Most importantly, Jesus saved my soul from Hell, and if that’s all Jesus ever did for me, that would be enough. 

Rest in the finished work of the cross. Truly believe and accept that gift of grace and know that Jesus is enough.  Grace is enough. Nothing we can ever do will get us to Heaven, only the Blood of Jesus. Let genuine repentance, belief, and confession lead you to a place that only Grace can come in and set you free.  “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one should boast.”  (Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭8‬-‭9‬)

Allow what Jesus has done for you to be the foundation of your praise and worship because Grace brings us from separation into restoration. Grace is Enough, so rest in Grace. 

• Where do you find yourself striving in your relationship it the Lord? 
• Is it service related? 
• Identity-related?
• Not feeling like you're enough? 

Rest in the truth that Jesus is enough. You don't have to be. He loves you and he sees you. All of you. Rest in His grace that's been given to you through your faith. Maybe you don't feel worthy or usable. Let me remind you. Jesus is worthy and if you love him with your WHOLE heart, then you are useable. I'm not worthy at all, but when Jesus gave his life for you and me, he did it knowing we were worth the price to pay for. What a love. Jesus is enough and he will carry you through any calling on your life. 

Rest in Grace, Rest in Jesus. 

Heavenly Father,

I thank you so much that you see me and you hear me. Thank you, Jesus, for your finished work on the cross to bring me into a relationship with You, our Father, and the Holy Ghost. I am not worthy, but yet you thought of me and took my entire sin debt upon yourself. I'll never do enough to say thanks or worship hard enough, but I'm thankful that I can rest in you and the grace you give. Thank you for forgiveness and as I head into the week, help me to see that I am useable. Help me see that I can slow down and savor those moments with you. My worth and identity are in you, and I thank you for the desires you have placed in me. Please remove works that I don't need to do and show me the path I should follow. I want to glorify you in all that I do. Forgive me for striving for grace when I should be resting in grace. 

In Jesus' name,

AMEN