It’s Not Entitlement! It’s Grace

It’s Not Entitlement! It’s Grace

10Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. (Psalms 51:10)

I was praying a few weeks back; talking to the Lord about me. I begin to tell God that I did not want to be filled with unforgiveness, jealousy, envy, strife, insecurity, or any of those things that would hinder my love walk or that would cause me to lose out with him. I cried out this verse of scripture in Psalms 51:10. With tears coming, I begged him to search my heart and see if there was anything not like Him so that He could take it out. It is funny when you do ask God something about your life, He knows whether or not you are ready to hear it. God knew I was ready, because my heart had been fixed. You see, my entire church family had been involved in a sting operation against sin and the likes, called “Operation Purge.” (I highly recommend this to every believer). I had been praying, crying, looking into the Word of God to find me, so my heart was being made ready. So when I was praying this particular morning, assuring that my heart was indeed pure, the Lord dropped this word into my spirit, “You still feel entitled!” I could not get mad, nor could I even push it over to someone else since I was the only person in the room. I had to sit there and listen. He said “you still feel entitled, and you are wearing entitlement on your head like a royal diadem.” He wasn’t finished. He let me know that entitlement was making me feel as if I am a victim. It makes you cry out for things that God never promised you. Entitlement makes you think “Because of who you are; you should have it!

Of course by this time I am crying so hard I can’t see out of my eyes. I had been fighting not to be jealous, or envious. I had been checking my life to make sure I didn’t hold unforgiveness or offences, but the whole time none of those things were the problem! These things kept creeping up, but they were not the root of my problem. The root of my problem was entitlement. You see, I take great care with my life. I pray, fast, seek God’s face, and don’t put myself in a position where “my good could be spoken evil.” I felt entitled, because of the care I took with my life, this anointing, and what had been prophesied to me over the years. Because I felt entitled, I thought that I should be respected by others, and when I wasn’t, offense crept up! So during this purge when God spoke to me about my feeling entitled, I came to understand that I am not anointed because of entitlement. I am not called to preach because of entitlement. I don’t earn or deserve the respect of others because of entitlement. I am not anything because of entitlement, but I am like Apostle Paul said in 1st Corinthians 15:10: “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

”Why am I here? Why has God chosen me? Is it because I am so smart or because I am so talented? Is It because I grew up in the church and worked in every area of the church, so that entitles me? No!It isn’t entitlement! it is GRACE (God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense)!