April 19, 2024
Pause. Read. Be still. Write. Pray. Go about your day or turn in for the night.
April 19, 2024
Read: Let my grace come before you; deliver me according to your promise!
Be Still: Have you ever done something in life when you felt underserving of goodness, forgiveness or even a second or third chance. There are times when forgiveness is a challenge, especially when it comes to forgiving ourselves. Guilt, shame, and all the other unhealthy emotions envelope us and lead us to believe being cast aside is the only option to compensate for our mistakes. This is what sin does to us – it casts a shadow of negativity and unhealthy thinking about ourselves, forcing us to believe we are not good. This negative cycle leaves us in a spiral of brokenness as we begin to believe the lie that God would never forgive us.
The psalmist in a surprise move is calling on God and praying for grace. We know grace as God’s undeserved, unmerited, and loving action – grace is receiving a gift we do not deserve. The psalmist does not pray for mercy or pardon but instead prays for God’s blessing and favor. This is the God we serve – a God who desires to be in relationship with us, despite our brokenness. God continually wants to grant us goodness and favor even when we do not believe we deserve it.
Today, celebrate the gift that you are in this life, in all your goodness and in all your brokenness. God wants you to know you are beloved. God wants good things for your life. This is grace.
Prayer: God of grace, may I go about my day reflecting in my relationship with others the grace you extend to me, over and over and over again. Amen.
Together,
we are held
in Christ’s love.
Pastor Kellie