Grace, Mercy, and Forgiveness by ‘brother bill’
“There’s a debt I still carry from before all of this,” a young man once admitted. “I don’t know what to do with it.”
Most men confuse two words that aren’t the same word at all: mercy and grace. *Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.* Mercy is for what’s already happened. Grace is the supply for the thing you’re dreading tomorrow. You can walk in boldly and ask for both, but you have to know which one you’re actually short on.
I think it’s easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission. So when I’m asking for mercy for things that are already covered, and never asking for grace on the thing I’m actually afraid of today.
That’s most of us. We apologize for a debt that’s already paid and quietly go on planting convenient seeds today that we already know will grow into weeds tomorrow — all while the one thing we’re genuinely dreading never gets handed over at all. *And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.* And for what’s actually behind you — *if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.*”
So which do I ask for?
Ask boldly, once, for the thing you’re dreading; not the thing you’ve already been forgiven for and just enjoy carrying around.
So, there’s also a big difference between mercy and grace, like the difference between “I’m sorry and please forgive me.” One gives control to forgive to the wronged person, the other releases the guilt from the shoulders of the perpetrator. There’s a lot of different ways to make our load lighter on our journey, but asking God for grace to help, is forgiveness in our time of need.
Blessings bill/dad
