Glorious grace

 Before I share, I want to comment on the comments because for some reason it’s not letting me.  Ugh, computer stuff!!  I just want to say thank you!  And to Sean I wanted to say OH WOW, look at that picture of you and baby Ryan!  

So, I had an a-ha moment today.  Let me begin by saying that I love to have control, or at least I think I have control.  And I also love to be perfect, which of course I’m not.  This I realize daily, oh about 5 minutes after getting out of bed......I don’t have control AND I’m not perfect.  0 for 2.  As I do some days, I marvel at maybe not messing it all up too bad and that I’m actually doing my day well, and then it happens.  I start to realize that I’ve had one too many negative thoughts or I’ve had emotions such as impatience or anger or selfishness.  

So today, I started thinking about how I didn’t used to get so frustrated with myself pre-salvation.  Then I clearly heard God speak to my heart.  He said, now you are saved and so you are trying to measure your works to my standards.  Oh, which I am! Partly for me, mostly for God.  No wonder I get so frustrated with myself when I don’t do everything just right.  Before salvation, I was measuring my perfectionism to my own set of standards, which were pretty low compared to God’s. 

And that’s where Jesus comes in to our lives and transforms them.  I don’t have to live up to God’s standards because I can’t, but when I do mess up (hourly), I have the redeeming blood of Jesus who washes those sins and mess ups and imperfections right away.  It’s grace, you see.  Beautiful, wonderful grace.  Yeah, God wants us to conform to Christ’s image, through the power of the Holy Spirit, but anything good in us is not because of us, it’s because of Him.  And when we falter and fail, Jesus saves.  He lifts us right back up into sweet fellowship with our Heavenly Father.  What a love story it is.  

P.S. Obedience and trust go hand in hand.  I just realized that, as well.  That’s probably crazy to just now understand that, but I read it in a devotional today.  The more we trust God, the more we will be obedient to Him no matter the situation because we trust that He is working all things together for our good, for those who believe in Him.  I struggle with trust, therefore, I struggle with obedience.