A Grace Given Without Restraint

I am overwhelmed daily by the grace of God in my life. It is hard for me to understand sometimes , well a lot of times, why he would want a relationship with me. The grace of God is something I think few people understand. It is something that you have to truly experience to understand it, and even then I think we can’t really completely comprehend the depth of the grace that He freely gives us. I was talking with a friend today about guilt and shame over past mistakes and I was struck again by how little I understand the grace of God. I think if we really understood it, guilt and shame wouldn’t be present in our lives after true repentance. So, after that conversation, I went digging in the word of God to find some understanding.
I came across Psalm 103, which is one of my very favorite psalms.
8 The LORD is merciful and gracious;
he is slow to get angry and full of unfailing love.
9 He will not constantly accuse us,
nor remain angry forever.
10 He has not punished us for all our sins,
nor does he deal with us as we deserve.
11 For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
12 He has removed our rebellious acts
as far away from us as the east is from the west.
13 The LORD is like a father to his children,
tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
14 For he understands how weak we are;
he knows we are only dust.

These verses spoke to my heart in a new, fresh way today. This is what grace is all about. He doesn’t constantly accuse us. He doesn’t remain angry forever when we mess up. He hasn’t punished us for everything wrong we’ve ever done, and he certainly doesn’t give us what we deserve. He removes our sins so far away, you can’t find them anymore. He treats us like a father treats his children, tender and compassionate. And the very best part to me today was… He UNDERSTANDS how weak we are because he knows we are only dust. .. He knows we are only human. He knows we are going to fail him over and over and over and over again. And yet he still loves us. He still chooses to forgive.
That is what grace is. We don’t understand it, because we don’t give grace the way He does. But it is so amazing to know that He gives it to us without restraint.