“How do I get back up when I have messed up so badly?” That seems to be the question a lot of teens have.  Sometimes you just want to know that God won’t be angry at you forever and this is when you need grace.  But is grace always there?  Find out in today’s bite size blog, “How To Get Grace When You’ve Messed Up.”

I was speaking to a youth leader’s wife the other day and asked what problem they face with teens on a regular basis.  She said that most of the time they are encouraging teens to stand back up, brush themselves off and get back on the right track.  The fact is, when you start to become independent and make some of your own choices, you are bound to mess up.  It is such a part of growing up that the Bible has a name for it: “sins of the youth.”  (Psalm 25:7), and David desperately wanted God to forget his.  Do you feel that way sometimes?

HOW DOES GOD FORGET OUR SINS?

YOU MUST FIRST UNDERSTAND WHAT GRACE IS

The first thing you need to know when looking for grace when you’ve messed up is that God will gladly give you forgiveness.  Just the act of granting us forgiveness is Him being gracious.  “Grace” by definition is receiving something we don’t deserve, and forgiveness is something we don’t deserve.

Once we realize that we don’t deserve forgiveness or anything good from God we are halfway there.  The biggest thing God looks for when He is doling out grace is humility. (Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6)  He actually resists you if you have any drop of pride about your sin.

GET RID OF PRIDE

PRIDE IN ADMITTING OUR FAULTS ONE TO ANOTHER

I for sure have known I was guilty and still held onto some pride.  Pride is pretty sneaky.  One way it shows up is by keeping us from asking for forgiveness from people we have hurt.  It’s one thing to ask GOD for forgiveness, but it’s a whole other thing to admit to a person that you were wrong.

PRIDE ABOUT CONSEQUENCES

Another way that pride shows up is when we feel like people have to treat us as if we never did anything wrong.  There are consequences to sin and when we are truly sorry for what we did and acknowledge it is a big deal; we are far more likely to take the punishment.  Maybe your parents ground you for something and you are sulking.  Maybe a parent told their child not to hang around you and you are bitter.  Maybe you lost a privilege and your remind them how unfair they are being because what you did wasn’t “that bad.” 

PRIDE ABOUT TAKING CORRECTION

Here is one that can be difficult the older you get: taking criticism.  God talks about the scorner in relation to pride. (Proverbs 3:34)  The scorner hates being rebuked, but God says that we ought not despise the chastening of the LORD; neither be wary of his correction: For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. Proverbs 3:11-12

Rather than learning from our mistakes and listening to someone who tries to teach us how to avoid the same mistake in the future, we can get proud and have the attitude of, “You don’t need to tell me I told you so.” or “Can’t you just leave me alone?” or “Don’t judge me until you’ve walked in my shoes.”

Sometimes a good rebuke is just exactly what we need, but if we can’t take the rebuke and admit our sin is wrong, then we can’t actually receive the grace we desperately need.

I don’t know your battle, but I do know that pride is subtle and we have to face it before we can restore fellowship with God.

ONE FINAL STEP TO RECEIVE GRACE WHEN YOU’VE MESSED UP

Just ask.

Once you deal with your pride and you are humble before God, just ask.

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  

What a wonderful promise.

And then He promises us that our sins will be removed from as us far as the east is from the west. (Psalm 103:12)

I am no stranger to messing up, and I talk about The Five Things I Would Have Done Differently In Highschool in this video: point # 4 & #5 are a little silly, but still true.  Anyway, watch the video and follow along with the Amazingly Deep Thoughts videos that teach girls like you “How Christian Girls Can Have The Best Life and How The Bible Works.”

Have a great day,
Melissa