Learning to Extend Grace to Yourself
“As far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
Psalm 103:12
So what is grace? Simply put, grace is something that we do not deserve. Grace encompasses kindness and compassion to those not worthy of it.
God does not owe us any good thing. The good that we experience is a result of His grace. The blessings that we experience in our life is because of His grace. Because God extends His grace towards us, we have to learn how to take that grace and extend it towards ourselves.
Ever heard, “We are our own worst enemy?” Well that statement is very true. We are so hard on ourselves. We are more quick to forgive others than we are to forgive ourselves. We are quick to look past other people’s faults yet we can’t seem to do that for ourselves. I want you to know tonight that nothing you could ever do can pluck you out of the hands of your Heavenly Father. He loves you way too much for you to give up on you.
The best way to extend grace to yourself is by always being kind and patient towards yourself no matter what you go through. Whatever you are facing today, know that it will be okay and that God will see you through. It is so easy to blame yourself many times because “you should have known better” and you should have walked away and you should have displayed some level of self control. The list is endless. While that is true, it is important to remember that you are human. Take accountability of your actions and then move on.
Sit but don’t stay.
Use what you went through to help you not make the same mistake again. And if you do? Continue to be kind and patient towards yourself. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you along the way so that even if you stumble, you will be able to get back up and keep going.
You own it to yourself to treat yourself right, and to be a complete and whole version of you.
I have messed up so many times this past last year. I have put myself in situations that could have literally cost me my entire ministry that I have worked so hard to build from the bottom up. I was faced with situations that could have cost me my job. I made decisions that resulted in a financial strain at one point. Yet I am here today walking with my head held high. How I moved on from those moments was simply by talking to myself reminding myself that I am human and that it is 100% okay to make mistakes. I am learning to give myself room to make mistakes and so should you. You will not get everything right on the first try. You may have to go through some things, sometimes more than once, in order to learn.
You have to remember that you were not designed to be perfect. You and I never were and we will never be. That’s God’s job. He has purposefully created us to be imperfect beings so that we can be fully dependent on Him to meet our every needs. God already knew that you were going to make that mistake way before you made it. God extended His grace to you then without you even repenting in the moment and He wants you to do the same for yourself now. Ask Him for forgiveness and in the same breathe, forgive yourself.
Words of Wisdom: Stop bringing up your past mistakes. God’s Word specifically states that He remembers your wrongdoings no more. He has wiped your slate clean. Anytime you are reminded of your mistake, don’t focus on what you did. Focus on how that mistake caused you to grow to become a better person today.
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