In Need of Grace

I made a mistake.

By the time I realized that I had made the mistake, it was already too late. It was unintentional, a mistake pure and simple, but once the course of events was set in motion the situation was out of my hands.

There is nothing much worse than messing up. Except messing up when the consequences of your actions affect others and you are powerless to stop it. That’s worse.

In Need of Grace

At the hour that I am writing this, I should be fast asleep in my bed. It is late. I am tired. Yet, sleep is elusive tonight. Situations like these will never be any fun; but as I lay in bed, trying desperately to sleep, I prayed. I asked for mercy upon me and the situation. I prayed for a solution to the situation details specifically. But it wasn’t too long before I was praying for grace.

I am a woman who has been the recipient of much grace in her lifetime. Grace, receiving something you most definitely do not deserve, is one of the most wonderful things in the world; yet I’ve found that this human race hates being put in a position to receive it. You see, requiring grace most often means we have been humbled, and nobody likes that.

As I prayed for grace over this situation, I found myself praying for God to be glorified in this mistake. Maybe it took this huge mess up on my part to bring me to the place where I would write this article. Maybe you need to be reminded that we are sinners in need of grace. Maybe you also need to hear of the grace that we need each and every day in our moments of failing.

During one specific chapter of my life, I was shown abundant grace over a long period of time. The thing I learned about being in need of grace is that once you have experienced grace rained down over you, you are much more likely to become a person who pours out grace on others. As difficult as it is to be in a place where we need to be shown grace, the lessons learned once you are a recipient of grace are invaluable. Every opportunity that you receive after that point to express grace to another human being is precious and holy.

“Just as the sinner’s despair of any hope from himself is the first prerequisite of a sound conversion, so the loss of all confidence in himself is the first essential in the believer’s growth in grace.” ~ A. W. Pink

Had I never crumbled to that terrible place where I desperately needed grace, I would have never experienced the priceless gift found in the hands and hearts of God’s people who grasped on to me and did not let go. I have experienced the love of God through His people most tangibly in these moments.

I make mistakes. I am a fallible woman in need of grace.

Do you find yourself in need of grace?

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