Finding Grace and Mercy

I was having a really bad morning mentally. Michele, my wife, took my donut with her in the car when she took my daughter to school. I had bought 3 donuts for us to eat before Church on Mother's Day morning, but we ended up leaving them for later. Then we didn’t eat them later. All that was going through my head was "Now I don’t have one and they do!", so I got upset. God grabbed me immediately and brought me to Hebrews 4:16, where every word in this verse has a lesson. Here is what came of my talk with God this morning.

Just about every word of this verse has a message. What appears to be a simple message of going to God anytime you’re in need turns into a massive lesson on how to truly draw near to God.

Let’s break it down.

Let us - Permission to do what the author is about to write. God has opened the door and invited us in. What are we waiting for? I think of black Friday and how people would line up outside the doors waiting for them to open. Or Michele standing outside of Five Below waiting for the them to open so that everyone could rush in and buy squishies.

Why then are we not rushing into the throne room to throw ourselves at God’s feet where He’ll give us the greatest gift of all. Mercy and Grace!

With Confidence - Non-hesitant. We run thru those doors confident that we waited in line long enough that we’re able to get what we want. We go and get it and take it home without questioning or hesitating.

Why then do we not have confidence when we run to God? If the curtain was torn open, why do we wait?

Draw Near - Lean into His hands and take the rest that only He can give us. (James 4:8) How satisfying and relieving is it when we finally have that squishy in our hands? We don’t back away from them, we lean into them and buy them.

Why do we not lean into God in our most darkest hours?

Throne of Grace - Only God’s throne can show us grace. In ancient times, when people went before the throne, it usually meant they were going to receive a punishment or be treated harshly. That isn’t true with God’s throne. We are welcome in front of Him any time.

Why do we not come before Him? Why do we instead go into our darkest place alone?

That we may receive - Michele didn’t want in line for nothing. She boldly went to the store, went in, leaned into the moment, and received her squishies. We need to understand that we can, and should, lean into God’s presence.

Why do we lean away? Why do we run?

Mercy - He will welcome us without harshness. We have sinned badly against God. We have done all kinds of horrible things. And I think we forget that God is merciful and ready to forgive us. We just have to ask.

Why do we go straight for shame and guilt when we should be going for repentance?

Find Grace - Grace is getting what we don’t deserve. In a court of law, when you’re guilty, you pay the price. In God’s court, we were found guilty, and Jesus paid the price for us. We need not run away, we need only lean into that gift and accept it. We can find grace in His throne room.

Why do we never remember grace and where to find it?

To Help - God is here to help, always. He wants to help us. The people at Five Below were happy to help with the merchandise that people were there for. They checked them out and sent them on their way. God will do the same for us. He’ll help us with what we need and get us back going on our day.

Why do we keep going further into despair when God’s help is right there?

In Time of Need - We always have times of need. God knows we have times of great need. Honestly, when are we not in need? Michele needed to get those squishies. Need? Well, maybe not, but it was important to her to make Krista happy with a gift. God is happy when He gives us our gifts too. He wants to help.

Why do we turn to ourselves when we can’t help ourselves to begin with?

God is always there with an open door. We are free to approach Him at any time, and we should. When we do, we’ll find Grace and Mercy in abundance (John 10:10). We’ll find it our great times of need. God is there for us, always (Matthew 28:20).

Father, thank you for this verse today. Thank you for walking me through it. Thank you for always being you. I am in need right now and need to a pick me up. Please boost my happiness and help me forget the donut. What a dumb thing. I told her to get them. I thank you now for everything you do for me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

I also create a video for this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohQflYHrpEo