But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. – 2 Corinthians 12:9
Oh the Lord has been teaching me this one… This verse has not left my spirit for the last couple of weeks. To be honest I do not like what I’m finding out about myself. I do not like the person that my deceitful heart has guided me in the past to become. Thank God there is transformational power in the Holy Spirit. Thank God that He promises to finish the good work that He has begun in me (Phil 1:6). Am I finished yet? Not even close. I am slowly beginning to understand why the Apostle Paul called himself the “chief of sinners.” We call Paul a saint. He wrote those words in 1 Timothy towards the end of his ministry. He must have been far more sanctified than I, but yet he called himself the chief of sinners. The Holy Spirit had revealed in him the full sinful nature of himself. We know this from what he wrote in Romans:
“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”
– Romans 7:15
“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?”
– Romans 7:24
The closer we get to God the more we realize how truly unworthy we are to even be in the presence of His holiness. But God through His loving grace invites us there again and again. I set these high standards for myself and then find myself screwing up left and right but God has told me,
“My love for you is not of your works it’s of who you really are.”
Who I am? Who I am Lord is a filthy, selfish, prideful, covetous sinner. Wow, that’s a little humiliating to admit that. But He says,
“I see through that to who you really are, and who you really are is mine. My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.”
Lord I am truly unworthy of Your affection.
Such love the Father has for you and I! John understood this clearly when he wrote:
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” -1 John 3:1
Accept God’s grace today. Stop trying to earn it.
iwanttobelieveingod 
Beautifully written.
How true this is – “The closer we get to God the more we realize how truly unworthy we are to even be in the presence of His holiness. But God through His loving grace invites us there again and again.” It’s amazing how full of ourselves we can be when we’re living far from God, even as a born-again Christian. The process of surrender and learning to fully accept God’s unconditional and completely undeserved love for us brings us to a new level of humility every day, and the fact that God loved us as we lived day after day in our own self-righteousness, long before we ever realized just how wonderful He is and just how desperately we need Him, brings us to a new depth of appreciation and gratitude every day as well. Very well-written article!!
Just found your blog!
This seriously, ““The closer we get to God the more we realize how truly unworthy we are to even be in the presence of His holiness.”
I’m always thinking to myself, “Hey, this is great, thank You, Lord, I’m doing really well in this area!” Only to turn around and be a flop somewhere else. You can’t get away from it! God I want to be purified in EVERY AREA all AT ONCE!! Help!
Only by His loving grace, as you said!
Great post. Thanks!