Breathing Grace

Some days it's so easy for me to get bogged down in my sins, failures, evil deeds, thoughts, and the list goes on and on and on. And then some days I get so wrapped up in my own lil universe that I don't give one single thought to my sin before my Holy Almighty God.
When I get in a rut of accusations and overwhelming guilt from my repeated, daily, horrid sins, there is only one answer to bring me out of it. And when I get so self involved and puffed up in my pride and "my" life there is only one answer to bring me back down to size.
Jesus!
The free grace that God offers me in His Son is undeniable. There is no way to get too puffed up in myself, because He brings me right back to remember who made me, created me from before time, loved me before I loved Him, and sent His only Son to die for me, to take the wrath that I deserve daily.
And when I get stuck and caught in the rut of beating myself up for the sins that I do over and over again sometimes without any thought... when I get caught up in trying trying trying to be better, trying to work my way to good... I only get so far until the free grace that God offers me in His Son brings such rest and relief.
I have heard it said that the walk with God is just like breathing. He has offered me the free gift of eternal life with Him! He has given me life in His Son. All of which would not be possible had He not freed me from the sin and death that I was living in. All He requires from me daily is faith and repentance.
They go hand in hand. You can't have one without the other. Our faith is not what saves us. My faith sometimes is so weak and faltering; if that was the basis of my salvation I would be up a creek, or down the lake of fire to hell. And repentence for our sin won't save us either. He does require those two things to walk daily with Him in a vital growing relationship, but at the same time those things are not what brings us to salvation. It is only Jesus, Him alone, He is the way, the truth, and the life, none come to the Father but through Him.
As we go through life day to day we breathe... ha! Obviously! Well our walk with the Lord should be as constant and as vital as every single breath we take. After all He is the one that gives us each breath and holds us together in Him. So as we live and breathe and have our being in Him, our faith and repentance should go hand in hand just like our breath.
The past couple days the Lord has brought to mind the action of repenting and realizing the grace of God that covers my every sin.
As I let out one of those deep sighing breaths, I release and breathe out the sins that God has laid on my heart... as if committing them to Him, expelling them from deep within my heart where they reside. I let the breath out until I have absolutely no more left in me, and then I gasp in a deep, fresh, new breath, breathing in the grace of God that is overflowing at His thrown. His mercies are new every morning, so there is no chance of Him running out.
It seemed weird to me and a lil flippant at first. But the more I thought of what I was doing, the more vital it became. The Lord doesn't want me to punish myself for my sins, He already took that wrath on Himself. He also doesn't want me to go through the day without acknowledging Him and His lordship in my heart. If I acknowledge Him through out my day, I will constantly see how I fail Him over and over again, how I fall short of what He requires of me; perfection.
So it is very freeing to know that in Christ I have the ability to come to the throne of God with confidence and boldy approach Him there to ask for forgiveness, to lay my sins unashamed at His feet, because I stand righteous, covered in the blood of the Lamb!
Therefore as I live, move, and breathe daily it is a constant reminder of God's grace. God who created, loved, wooed, made alive, saved, rescued, redeemed, forgave, pardoned, justified, and has promised to carry me to completion.
Praise God for the breath of life that He has given me!
Praise His name for the free gift of grace that Jesus purchased for me at the cross!
Praise the LORD on high for His work in me that never leaves me to myself!
Praise God for the gift of a heart that is open to see my sin before Him, and to know His forgiveness!
Praise Yahweh that He is with me, in me, and keeps me walking in faith and repentance day to day.... breathing His life that He gave for me on the cross!