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IBS 9 - 2 Corinthians 1:12

2 Corinthians 1:12
“Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace.”

I am someone who used to rely on worldly wisdom. I forgot to rely on God’s grace. I would think I needed approval from people. I would compare myself to my friends all the time. If they got better grades then me when we were in school, I would get upset with myself and told myself I wasn’t good enough. If they were anything better then me I would get upset and say to myself “why can’t I be more like them? Why can’t I be better?” I was very insecure and I really put myself down constantly worrying about how others saw me.  Proving myself to people did nothing for me. It just made me feel worse about myself. All the while, God was telling me, “My grace is sufficient for you! I’m here! Focus on me, you don’t need to worry about what others think about you. I love you!”
I’m so thankful for God’s grace. He didn’t judge me on how well I did in school. He’s gracious to me. He loves me. He’s constantly telling me that I don’t have to prove myself. That, with Him, I am good enough. That this world isn’t going to be the one to judge me when the end comes. That is such a relief. 
It took me a while to learn that. I don’t need human approval, as long as I have God’s. And he loves. He’ll never leave me or forsake me. He’s so gracious to me. He will never let me down. I’ve learned and am still learning that I just need to be myself. I don’t need to try to be like anyone else. I completely understand that and I have such freedom in that. But sometime’s it’s still hard. It’s a battle that I just have to be reminded to rely on God’s grace everyday.


Application: I will write out RELY ON GOD’S GRACE on a piece of paper and keep it in my box so that I’ll be reminded every day to do that. 

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