As you ponder the answer to this question, I’ll answer first, and say “NO”; though I would have answered yes yesterday, but today , I discovered something different. In Romans 5:17 “For if by the one man’s ^[a]offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ” really caused me to recognize that, though I am saved, I have not fully received the Grace of God as I previously thought. At this time, I do not feel like I am reigning in my life. More than anything, it caused me to realize that I need more of Jesus and more Grace! A lot of times, we as Believers think that once were saved , our lives will automatically change over night, and everything will be grand; but change takes time in which Jesus himself will do, but it does take effort on our part, and our responsibility is to believe and trust in the word of God; trusting that the word of God will prove true in our lives.

Romans 3:24 says “But by the free gift of God’s grace all are put right with him through Christ Jesus, who sets them free” we see that Grace is a FREE gift that we cannot earn. Sometimes the thought of receiving the Grace of God for free without doing anything to deserve it can be very difficult; the world tells us we have to work hard and earn everything and that nothing is free, but God says otherwise. God wants us to FULLY receive something that has already been paid for through his Son , Jesus Christ; nothing we could ever do for Christ could come close to earning this beautiful gift. However, what I have realized is, the harder it is for me to receive( to come into possession of, acquire receive as a gift) the gift of Grace ( the free and unmerited favor of God as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowing of blessings), the harder my life is; meaning, whenever I attempt to operate out of my own strength and capacity, I am left feeling frustrated as oppose to allowing God to lead and help me.

Unfortunately, I believe a lot of people live this way, they too are operating in their own strength, which sadly is preventing God from doing only what he can in our lives. God wants us to fully understand that his grace is sufficient; 2 Corinthians 12:9 says  “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness, Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me”. So from scripture, we see that not only is God’s Grace sufficient, we need the power of God to rest on us in order for our lives to thrive. God even wants to help and support us in our everyday mundane tasks because he is concerned about those things that concern us; Psalms 138:8 says, “The Lord will ^[a]perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever;”

God truly cares and wants his children to fully access what is available through Jesus Christ, however I truly believe he will not force us. When we continue to operate in our own strength, we are ultimately hindering God’s blessings and peace in our lives. Were basically telling God “I got this, I don’t need your help “; and God patiently waits until were tired of doing things on our own, and cry out for help; and yet, I am so grateful and thankful to serve a God that when we call out to him, he hears us, Jeremiah 33:3 says,” Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not”, and that is the Grace of God! Not deserving for God to answer us, but he does! And when he does, he is eager to help us!

I no longer want to operate out of my own strength; being a mom of 3, I recognize I need the Grace of God more and more! I want to be able to rest in knowing that in God’s Grace, I can do and be everything he has called me to be but in his strength. My thoughts can flow easily, the mundane tasks can be done easier, and life can be better knowing that God Almighty is for me. Instead of operating in God’s Grace here and there, I want to fully grab hold to this beautiful promise God has made us. I no longer want to live a drained and drudgery life due to my own ignorance when God has already provided something better. So let me ask you again, “Have you fully received the Grace of God”? If not, are you ready to give up operating in your own strength to do life and live an abundantly graceful life in Jesus Christ? Hopefully so, lets me a commitment today that we will choose God’s Grace as oppose to our own grace. Instead of waiting until we become frustrated and burnt out with life, lets witness the power of God by asking for his help 1ST! lets commit to asking God for help even in those little things that generally have the most impact in our lives ,but it all starts and finishes by fully receiving the Grace of God!