But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV
Showing grace day after day to the same person who regularly fails to meet our expectations is simply beyond our ability. Our hearts carry deep emotions in marriage that make it impossible to show grace in our own power. Whether it’s hurt caused by deep betrayal or annoyance at picking up the same dirty socks again, whether it’s anger over a harsh word thrown in battle or frustration over financial matters, whether it’s loneliness, disappointment or apathy, we store emotions in our hearts. Those emotions challenge our ability to show grace.
Before we can figure out how to offer grace in our marriages – in the big moments and in the little moments – we must take the time to meditate on the grace of God. We must store His grace up in our hearts every day if we are to find the grace our marriages need to thrive. Those of us who have been believers for any length of time know why Jesus died on the cross, but the familiarity of that truth can become dull. And when it’s dull, it no longer pierces our hearts – that reality is futile. Don’t let the familiarity of scripture downplay the incredible gift of grace – take a moment to pause on these truths every day and allow your heart to be overwhelmed by His love for you.
All of God’s wrath, all of the condemnation we deserve, was poured out on Jesus when He hung on the cross. All of God’s demands for perfect righteousness were fulfilled by Christ in that moment.
At the instant we receive His gift of salvation, offered to us by grace, God becomes for us – 100%, forever, for us. His death took the place of our death in a moment. We commit the sins that deserve punishment, yet He takes the judgment and somehow gives us His righteousness. In that moment of salvation, God becomes 100% irrevocably FOR us forever. Why? Because of grace.
Think about that for a minute. The God who created this incredible and beautiful universe is FOR you. He is for YOU. The One who is sovereign over all things is FOR you, the One who is able to save and to destroy, He is FOR you. Everything He allows, every difficult circumstance, every tear – it’s all FOR you.
It doesn’t even make any sense why He would do something like that when you spend any time at all dwelling on it. Why would He offer us the free gift of salvation when we’ve done so little for Him? Because of the great love with which He loved us. Because of His grace.
This truth should drop us to our knees every day in humble appreciation. Knowing He pours undeserved and unconditional grace out onto our lives without any expectation of return should move us to tears, and shed light on those moments we do not offer the same. We have no right to demand anything from anyone. We have already been given everything.
Ponder this truth today: our greatest trial is eternal separation from Christ. Our greatest trial is not the mess our marriage is in; our greatest trial is not his attitude or her nagging, it’s not the betrayal or the neglect, it’s not the socks on the floor or the failure to communicate. Our greatest trial is the fact that on our own, we are eternally separated from God.
But grace saved us from that. If grace can rescue us from our greatest crisis, grace can rescue our marriages.
Press on ~ you are loved 💗
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