The Apostle Paul reminds us, 

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”- Ephesians 2:8-9

This verse reminds us that our salvation is by grace through faith -not by works. We don’t earn our way to Jesus by fixing ourselves first. He meets us where we are and transforms us.

This is a pretty straight forward and to the point message. And what a beautiful invitation. Jesus went to the cross to bear all of our sins. He shed his blood and suffered on our behalf, to give us the most precious gift that our Father in Heaven has ever given us so that we can be saved. So that we may have a seat at His table. Without cleaning up our messes first. By the Grace of God and our faith in Jesus. We must do the work to clean up ourselves and turn away from our sinful nature, but this scripture is very clear that we cannot do it by our works alone and that we do not need to do it first before we come to Jesus for his help. Jesus’s beautiful invitation:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9 

And again he invites us:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”- Matthew 11:28-29

Jesus invites us in our weakness, in our struggles, and in our burdens. Jesus never said, “clean up your messes and then come to me. Figure it out all alone, and then come to me and I’ll receive you,” No, his invitation is very clear. He’s asking you to come to him, just as you are- in your weakness, in your tired, brokenness and sinning ways.  Come and find rest and learn from him.

You are not alone. Tuck this into your heart today. Jesus loves us at our worst, before we can even think about changing our ways. Let him step into your mess. Let him lift you up out of all that you’re going through. He gave his life so that your life can be to the fullest.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8

Photo Credit: Joshua Earle/Unsplash

Shawna is the author of Amazon Best Seller Faith in the Flames: Transforming Trauma into Hope and Healing, and the host of the podcast Faith in the Flames. She inspires women to transform their trauma into hope and healing, drawing from her own journey through brokenness and grief. Shawna empowers women to move beyond survival, rediscover joy, and embrace a restored, purposeful life aligned with God’s love. With a heart for reaching those who feel lost and alone, Shawna is passionate about helping others step into their God-given light and thrive in their new identity. Connect with her on Instagram.