REWIND: Grace for the Gaps

A lot of women, especially mothers, struggle with the feeling that we're never quite good enough. In this episode, you'll learn that no matter how many mistakes you make, God always gives “grace for the gaps.”

What is grace?

• In many church traditions, grace is defined as “getting the good things that you don’t deserve,” while mercy is “not getting the bad things that you do deserve.”
• My favorite definition comes from a former pastor of mine. He defined grace as “God doing for us what we can’t do for ourselves.”
• Reference Scriptures:

1. 2 Corinthians 12:8-9
2. Ephesians 2:8-9
3. Romans 5:15

What is “the gap”?

• “The gap” is the place where your best efforts fail. You can only get so far in your own strength before you either burn out or give up or both. 
• This could be anything from losing patience with your toddler to juggling the needs of a blended family to struggling with chronic illness. 
• The gap is where you realize your need for God. It doesn’t have to be rock bottom, but it often is. 

Fortunately, God makes His grace available to us in a variety of ways (Hebrews 4:16):

1. It helps us to endure things that are uniquely hard (2 Corinthians 12:8-9). 
2. It empowers us to serve and do other good things we normally couldn’t (1 Peter 4:10).
3. It literally makes salvation possible (Ephesians 2:8-9).

What does this mean?

1. We don’t have to be afraid of experiencing hardship, because God promises that He will sustain us.
2. We also don’t have to be afraid to take a “leap of faith” and try something new, because God will equip us. 
3. He did all the work to help us “get” saved and “keep” our salvation.

What inspired this episode:

• Recently, my son was sick with pneumonia, and of course, I put a lot of things on the back burner so I could take care of him. One of those things was this podcast. I fell behind and didn't release an episode last week.
• At first, I felt guilty about failing to keep my commitment, but then I realized the importance of giving myself grace and receiving grace from a God who loves me. As women, we don't have to be perfect; God gives us the grace to be human, and we should do the same for ourselves.

Action Step: What are some areas of your life where you need an extra measure of grace right now? List them and pray about them in detail over the next 7 days.