But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved...     Ephesians 2:5, ESV

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.    Romans 3:23-24, ESV

Of all the messages that people who have given into their desperation need, the Bible's teaching on grace is near the top of the list. Very often when people are tempted to give up, it is because of something that was out of their control - perhaps because of the wickedness of others, perhaps because of being an arbitrary victim of some terrible illness, or maybe just an unfortunate casualty of some random event of life. All of these things are hard to deal with, but I don't think there is anything more difficult to come to peace with than when our own sin has brought us to the point of breaking.

Ask any addict, and they will likely tell you that they arrived at their hopeless state through their own bad decisions. Anyone who has ever cheated on a spouse and brought down grief upon the innocent and the guilty alike will understand. And anyone who has just rejected God's way entirely can attest to the desperation for which they have no one else but themselves to blame. So, what can we do when we are in a situation of despair, when we know good and well that it was our own fault?

This is where a proper understanding of God's grace will come to the rescue, if only we will let it. You see, grace is something completely underserved. You cannot earn it through hard work, you cannot claim it be doing virtuous acts to try and counterbalance the evil you have committed. No, grace is first and last, a gift of God. Before we can ever have any healing from the wounds that our sins have caused, we must understand this immutable fact. 

It was the Holy Spirit of God who inspired Paul to pen these words, "It is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). Since we have been given this grace as a gift, then everyone can receive it. I know that some would like to believe that this gift comes with no conditions, but this is not true. In Jude 1:4, Jesus' own brother tells us through inspiration that grace is not a license for sin, and the Apostle Paul in Romans 6:! tells us that we cannot go on sinning that grace may abound, because God forbids this. So, we understand that this gift cannot be misused by continuing in the sin that God forbids, but for those who come out of their sin, God's grace is sufficient!

That means that we can be forgiven - no matter what we have done. God's grace will not always remove the physical penalty for your past sins. For example, if you cut off your hand while you were drunk, God will not miraculously restore that hand, but He will forgive your sin of drunkenness in order that you might be saved. Some will complain about the fairness of God at this point. They will feel that God's grace should remove all of the physical penalties created by their sin, but that's not the way God ever intended for His grace to work. He will, however, give you an even greater gift of eternal life. But be cautioned, in order to remain in His grace, we are going to have to start living in the right way. 

Once we have accepted these Biblical truths, we can then go on to the really marvelous things about grace. Now we can do our best to leave our sinful past behind us. This will be difficult, because much of the sin that is strong enough to bring you to your knees in despair is the very type of sin that is addictive in nature. And addictions are hard to overcome.

But with God's help, nothing is impossible. So, now we are on our way. We have suffered the cruel penalties that our own sin has brought upon us, but we now have an avenue of escape - a lifeline, if you will, to eternal salvation. We must get past the fact that we are totally undeserving of this second chance and grab ahold of this lifeline with all of our might. There will be those who will think we don't deserve such a chance at redemption, and they are right, but then again neither do they. We all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory, and we all have been offered the gift of grace.

Now it is time to unwrap that wonderful gift. Now is the time to accept the fact that God has forgiven our sins and begin to live for Him and Christ. Now is the time to embrace that hope of eternal life. and that peace that passes all understanding. Now is the time to have Paul's attitude and be determined to live for Christ, even when it is hard, and press on to the goal for which Christ has called us heavenward.

It will be a difficult journey, to be sure. But remember that with Christ all things are possible, so get started on that journey and never quit. You who were once bound for eternal destruction are now on the path to eternal salvation, so do whatever it takes no matter how hard the task may be. God will help you every step of the way, but you must take those steps so get started. You and I were once without hope, but now we are saved. We are going to heaven if we accept this second chance that has been given to us, so let us by all means accept that chance, embrace our responsibility, and get on that narrow path that God has called us to walk. It won't be easy, but nothing worthwhile ever is - and by God's grace we are going to heaven!

Are you desperate and without hope today? Do you feel as if all is lost? Maybe, then, it is time for you to accept the offer of grace that God has so graciously extended to you. You will be eternally grateful that you did!