Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV)
Many people feel that they cannot come to God boldly and that they cannot expect to receive good things from Him. This is because they are relating to God based on their performance – and they know that their performance isn’t good enough. You will never have boldness to come to God while you are basing His acceptance and His blessing of you on your performance – you’ll never be good enough. If your boldness in approaching God isn’t based on His grace, then your boldness is actually arrogance. If you think that you deserve God’s acceptance and blessing for any reason, think again. You don’t. The only reason we can be bold in our relationship with God and expect to receive good things from Him is because of His grace (undeserved favour) through Jesus and what He did for us.
When we know God for who He really is, we will be bold and confident in our walk with Him. Our relationship with God will only ever be as good as our understanding of His grace. Many people see God as sitting on a throne of judgement (where you receive what you deserve), but He’s actually sitting on a throne of grace (where you get what you don’t deserve). You can enjoy a free-flowing relationship with God knowing that He’s always dealing with you in grace.
Relating to God based on His grace and not our performance releases supernatural faith in our lives. As we focus on Jesus and what He’s done for us, faith rises in us (Hebrews 12:2). It’s difficult to believe God and His Word when you’re focused on your performance, your failings and your efforts. You will always be trying to evaluate yourself and wondering if you are doing well enough. But when you realize that it’s all about His goodness towards you – independent of your performance – it becomes easy to receive from Him. We cannot receive mercy or grace to help us unless we are relying on His grace and not our performance.
Daniel 11:32b (NKJV)