How can learning to receive God’s grace open up more of your purpose?
People who truly live in the grace of God are such amazingly peaceful people, devoid of fear and striving.
They find it easier to deal with what life throws at them and they find it easier to take leaps forward into fulfilling the fullness of their calling.
How do you know whether you’re living in grace or not?
There are fairly easy ways of spotting how far you have journeyed into the grace of God.
Condemnation is one sure sign of not living in grace, whether directed to yourself or others.
Beliefs such as: I’m not good enough. I need to try harder. I need to spend more time with God. I should have done this quicker. I’m failing. I am not reaching my potential …..all point towards self-condemnation showing up.
Condemnation directed to others, could look like thinking or saying; You should lose weight. You should do it this way or that way. You should practice this way of connecting with God and developing your spiritual maturity. This particular spiritual discipline is key. You should read more of the Bible. You should spend more time with God. You should fast and pray. You should do ABC program to get you to XYZ……
The fact is you don’t have to do ANY OF THIS!
You WERE saved by grace. You ARE saved by grace. You WILL BE saved by grace.
You can therefore live every day in grace.
God loves you whatever you do or don’t do. It’s not conditional love. It’s not based on how well you perform your Christian walk. It’s free, abundant, lavish, and completely unconditional.
Reading this, I’m guessing there would have been different thoughts going through your mind. I know God gives us unconditional grace and love ….…..but I’m pretty sure I am accountable, or that I must learn and grow in God’s ways, or that I could lose my salvation?
I’m not going to address any of those thoughts, but simply give you some Destiny Coaching tips on how to step more abundantly into God’s grace than you are now.
In my own life (Tina Southgate), I have found receiving more of God’s grace to be a lifelong journey. God takes me little by little, deeper into His grace which brings more freedom, more boldness, more authority, more maturity and more fulfilment of potential and destiny.
Here are some coaching tips on how to do this which I have journeyed through personally and coached many people through during their pursuit of fulfilling their calling.
Tip 1 – Live as though God is for you not against you.
Imagine the lights are green on what you desire to do. Imagine that your heavenly father sponsors what you want to do. He has dreams for you. He wants to fulfil your dreams as well as His dreams for you. He has the capacity for both. He has the capacity to bring you everything you need and most importantly He wants to.
If God be for me who or what could be against me (Paraphrased from Romans 8:31)
Now imagine, living your life fully believing God is for you and not against you. He is pro-actively for you, not just a sugar daddy waiting to bail you out in those crisis moments when you urgently call on Him. He is there in EVERY detail of your life (Psalm 37:23), wanting you to prosper in ALL areas of your life, your work, your health, your relationships, your business, your career, your ministry, your home, your pursuits etc.
Imagine each area of your life individually and ask God to show you how He is FOR YOU in this area.
Ask him: What are you rooting for, for me in this area?
Write down what comes to mind, whether trivial or not.
Then ask God: What do you most want me to believe for in each of these areas?
Tip 2 – Give yourself a break!
This is maybe the most needed thing for most of us but perhaps the hardest thing for us to do. There are always excuses for not taking a break, for not stopping, for continuing to strive. It is counter cultural to truly rest. I know because I have been there. With at least one burn out under my belt, I know that grace = rest. Living in grace looks like being able to fully rest and not fret and not feel that you are unable to take rest.
It’s an act of trust. By taking the rest you need you are believing that Jesus is your saviour and that you are not your own saviour. For some, rest may mean, shorter days at work, working out healthy boundaries to do this, or even exercising the ultimate boundary and quitting a job. For some this may mean taking time off, maybe an afternoon, maybe a day, or even for some maybe a year or two. (I’m not kidding, God requires us sometimes to take a prolonged season of rest and these seasons sometimes last a few years).
He prepares us in these places of rest. He fills us. He heals and restores us. He reveals more of Himself and His plans to us.
For some who refuse to rest, God mercifully lifts His grace for a season, so we HAVE to take rest. It becomes enforced rest.
For most of us, we have commitments, so we have to be super creative to figure out how to have rest and plenty of it. Who can take care of the kids? (Yes, you need to trust that others can take on your responsibilities for a time because you need rest). Fear of handing over responsibilities for a time is not healthy, it’s not Godly. No matter what your commitments, violently fight for your rest.
Tip 3 – Practice just receiving.
True rest is not just a time without doing. True rest is a 24/7 state of mind. (This does not replace that we still do need those seasons to actually do nothing also. Be STILL and know that I am God Psalm 46:10, means to actually be still)
But being able to receive God’s grace 365 24/7 is a fantastic gift. God is our source, so in faith we can simply open our hearts, our minds and our souls to receive from Him. This can be in any context, even for example when you are watching a movie.
What would you like to give me in this moment God?
Tell me more?
What are you transforming in me in this season?
How can I receive more from you?
What part of your goodness are you filling me with?
Please give me more.
I want more!
CHRISTIAN COACHING
There is not a moment in time when we can’t mindfully be aware that God is also there with us in that moment and wants to bless us.
Let’s practice just receiving each blessing He has for us in each moment. He is such a lavish extravagant Father. He wants us to be greedy for all He has for us.
These three coaching tips help us to actually live day by day in grace and not just talk about it.
People who live in the grace of God are such amazingly peaceful people, devoid of fear and striving.
I want to be more and more like this.
Join me in the pursuit of receiving God’s amazing grace.