Grace is God’s Gift

Nevertheless for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God. (Nehemiah 9:31)

There is a significant difference between mercy and grace (although Christians frequently confuse the two). First, you must ask for mercy, and God is always willing to give it. Grace, on the other hand, is something you receive. It’s not something you petition God for, as it’s a fundamental part of who He is. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Grace. (Hebrews 10:29)

Mercy is always connected to repentance, but God’s grace is linked to His nature. You never qualify for grace or do enough to earn it; rather, it is the power of God that He has given you.

God is abundant in mercy, forgiving you even when you don’t deserve it, and overflowing with grace, providing you with what you didn’t earn.

His mercy doesn’t empower us to sin; it encourages us to live for righteousness. His grace isn’t to make things easy for us, but to give us the strength to do what is difficult and to comfort us when we do what is uncomfortable to our flesh.

His mercy has found you, His grace has kept you going, and your faith receives it all. Stop living as if you’re barely making it and start living by faith, understanding that you have received mercy and have been transformed by grace.

Practical Application

Every morning when you wake up, thank God out loud for His new mercies and grace. God has already given you new strength for these 24 hours; all you need to do is receive it by faith and walk in it.

1 Peter 2:3; Psalm 34:8