Episode #337 Grace for the Days You Don’t Read Your Bible – Learning to Enjoy Life with God

Hey, friend. Have you ever started a new Bible reading plan or a study or devotional and you just get off track? You miss a few days. You're not connecting with it the same way. You get busy or distracted and you kind of start feeling like you're failing at it. Well, if you can relate, I'm glad you're here today ' cause that's what we're talking about and we're talking about receiving grace from God in the journey.

And there's a lot of different approaches that I thought about taking with this episode because grace is a wonderful, beautiful thing God offers us. Grace means unmerited favor. It's receiving the good from God that we don't deserve, and He extends grace to us where we can put expectations and performance and achievement on ourselves. Especially when it comes to things like reading the Bible.

God doesn't put those burdens on us. Instead, He offers us grace. He offers us daily renewal. Opportunities to think again and simply choose differently.

So as you reflect on the habits you're looking to build and the spiritual practices or disciplines or routines that you know would help grow and edify your spirit, if you're wanting to pray more or go to church more or read your Bible more and you feel like you're just not quite hitting the mark, this specific area is the place where God wants to meet you today. This specific area of growth and what might feel like failure is the place where you can experience more of God as He actually is. You can receive from Him today a revelation of His character and His nature, who He is and how He sees you, that only God can give.

And so let's take a look at some of the ways God describes Himself, His grace and His mercy to us in Scripture.

Romans 8:1

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

Psalm 145:8–9

"The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made."

Lamentations 3:22–23

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness."

As you listen to these verses in light of failure, in light of mistakes, in light of missteps, God is inviting you to receive this about Him more abundantly, more vibrantly. God doesn't wait to meet you after you've gotten everything all together. He is there with you right where you are. Especially when we're looking to build a new spiritual habit, when we want to get more consistent in spending quiet time or grow in an area of spiritual discipline, we need God to show up this way.

We need to believe that He is who He says that He is, and that His care talked about in these verses don't just apply to somebody else, but they're real for you today.

And so as we close out today's episode, I actually have three different questions to offer you.

One's kind of part A and B. Another one stands a little bit more on its own. But the point of these questions in each Good God Talks episode is for you to continue this conversation with the Lord directly, to anticipate that He wants to talk with you, that He wants to share with you more about Himself and more about who you are in Him.

And so take one, two, or all three of these questions and listen to Him to see what more God wants to say on this topic.

God, what story have I been telling myself when I miss a day or I fall behind, and what are you telling me instead?

God, how can I receive your grace in a way that changes how I show up in this area next time?

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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