You may have wanted to earn God's favor. You told others that you were working to go to heaven. Somehow, deep down inside, you knew things were not right with God. So, you concluded that you must try harder and work even more. Still, there was no real assurance that you were right with God.
The days went by and you were no more sure of your relationship with God. It seemed like nothing worked in your pursuit to please God. You did everything that you knew to do. Nothing worked. Finally, you prayed, "God, I've tried everything I know to do to make things right with you. I don't know what else to do. The only thing I can do is give up." Then, grace came. Grace found you.
Grace gave you favor with God. You really experienced grace, God's unmerited favor. You could not earn it nor deserve it. There was no way you could work for it. Grace found you. It was so amazing, because it was God's grace and not what you had done. It was the gift of God. "And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace" (Romans 11:6).
Grace found you in Christ. It was not what you did for God, but it was what God did for you in Christ. He took away all your sins at the cross of Jesus. God justified you in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Grace enabled you to believe in Christ. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8). Grace found you.
