November 9

to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One. — Eph 1:6 BSB

We constantly search within ourselves for something to make us acceptable to God, and we often become discouraged when we can't find the holiness, obedience, calm submission to God’s will, serenity of soul, or heavenly-mindedness we believe He desires. Our bad tempers, rebellious thoughts, coldness, barrenness, and sense of being spiritually dead—along with the feeling that we’re not improving but getting worse—make us think that God sees us the way we see ourselves. This leads to darkness of mind and spiritual bondage, causing us to lose sight of our acceptance in Christ and fall into the misery of self-loathing, even questioning God because of our ongoing sinfulness.

The more we focus on these dismal aspects of ourselves, the more we drift away from the grace of the gospel and lose sight of the true basis of our acceptance with God. It is only “in the Beloved” that we are accepted, not because of anything good we do, think, or intend.

A saving knowledge of our acceptance in Christ, apart from anything in ourselves, is a firm foundation for our faith and hope, and it keeps us from sinking into despair.