Gift of Grace

Why do blog inspirations come at the most unseeming times? Like when you're trying to wind down and go to sleep, but ideas refuse to be calmed. Sometimes the number of intricately connected ideas would take the whole night to conquer and record... 

"And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace." John 1:16

Do you comprehend how much we rely on God for righteousness? Do I? The verse above says that if it weren't for God's grace, we couldn't even receive God's grace. We are so sinful that of ourselves, we aren't capable of obtaining God's gift of forgiveness. In my battle with God against the devil, I have come to realize that either I can use God's grace to keep me from sin, or I can use it to forgive me from sin. That doesn't give me license to sin when I want to and expect my relationship with God to remain strong. Rather, it shows that in the end, whatever my actions, it's God's grace that saves me. Whether I sin or not, I still use God's gift of grace.

"Gift." I have come to love that word. I am completely incapable of repayment or justification for God's grace and blessings that He gives me. Recently, I have wondered why I haven't been very happy. I would work hard to find happiness in the experiences around me. Now I am beginning to realize that happiness doesn't come from "out there." It comes from inside; it is a gift from God. Of course, when I realize that happiness is a gift, I realize that all the little things in life (like the beautiful weather) are gifts as well, and suddenly my happiness and thankfulness increases exponentially. Why? Because God has given me the grace to use His grace.