By Michael Youssef, Ph D.  June 22, 2020

While we always should show reverence to God, we should never fear Him the way we fear frightening things. God is love, and His love for us is unconditional. Though we do not deserve it, God freely gives His grace to us.

However, many times when we need God the most, we end up feeling as though we are least accepted by Him. Nothing could be further from the Truth! Even when we fall flat on our faces due to sin, God does not turn His back on us. In fact, He does just the opposite—He opens His arms to us and beckons us to come to Him.

We need to understand a principle concerning grace: It is not currency we carry around in our pockets, spending it at will whenever we sin. Instead, God’s grace is precious because Jesus Christ paid the eternal sacrifice for all our sins—past, present, and future. His death on Calvary’s cross made it possible for us to experience eternal salvation through grace alone.

It is impossible to earn God’s grace. As fallen humans, we certainly do not deserve His mercy, yet He opens the windows of heaven and pours His grace on us.

As we grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ, we begin to understand He truly cares about our lives. We learn that He wants to build intimate relationships with us. Instead of living in terror of Him, we are given the opportunity to be children of the King of kings. Suddenly, we begin to understand that He wants us in His throne room, where grace showers all who enter His presence.

Prayer: Lord, give me confidence to come to You when I have sinned, knowing You still love me. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).