Next Step - Day 4

I love this Chapter! I love it love it love it! I recall now that this is when I began to understand God's grace. And Jen Hatmaker, I have to say, broke it down for me! The biblical reference she used came from the book of Galatians. The book of Galatians is one of my favorites for some reason.

The title of the Chapter for day 4 is Curses. Yeah I know what kind of title is that...but believe me, it makes sense. She started out "How do you feel standing before God today? What do you think He is thinking of you?"  Words like unworthy, sinner, not good enough, not worth it started to pop in my head. And I had to put the breaks on! Chains again!!! My thoughts are ridiculous and we all know where they were coming from too. The Enemy. He is trying to hold me down with chains and make me dance like a monkey for God. Didn't I just cover this the past few nights? Ha! So I sat back for a second an meditated on the questions asking God to help me search for the answer to these questions in my heart. I then felt blessed, grateful, filled with joy, loved, child of God, covered in Grace.

Jen next sentence was AMAZING to me. She writes, "The Enemy has us so confused about grace that we actually believe God's pleasure is based on what we do for Him."  The Enemy makes us feel like we have to earn God's grace. "Pride convinces us that we are not good enough and everyone else isn't trying hard enough".  So we are cursed. Cursed because we keep dancing for the wrong reasons, cursed by constantly not being holy enough to receive grace. And the list goes on and on....down to following the laws of the bible.

The following just sums it all up! Paul writes in Galatians 2:21, "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through law, Christ died for nothing!" Jen continues to write, "If you are spinning your wheels for God, Christ died for nothing. If you control the level of affection God feels for you, then Christ died for nothing. If you are responsible for fixing your sin, then Christ died for nothing. If you prefer the chains of obligations over unearned freedom, Christ died for nothing."

I love the way this woman writes! She just breaks it down to a level of "Ahaa!" It makes so much sense! Grace is Grace is Grace is Grace! God freely gives it! We just have to accept it! God is throwing it at us and we need to grab it! If it wasn't for His grace, I would not be where I am today! "Pleasing God comes after grace, not before.", Jen writes. YOU CAN'T EARN GRACE!

For the longest time I thought I had to do good in order to receive His grace, to be saved. I had to earn my place in His sight. I have come to the conclusion I am SAVED by HIS GRACE! It makes me want to do things in His name, to testify, to pray for others...I don't feel "obligated". I feel honored that I am loved enough by God to receive His grace no matter what.  It is an amazing feeling when you come to realize it. I hope and pray that one day you will experience this Ahaaa moment.

The fifth day is of reflection in Jen's book. Tomorrow, I will list all the biblical references. I hope you find the time to meditate on them too. Then there are two days off. I hope you have enjoyed this as much as I have. Thank you for letting me share this with you. I am looking forward to next week.