When Self Blocks Grace: Why Many Never Fully Experience God’s Favor

It’s to remove the veil that blocks us from seeing grace clearly

We love to sing about grace. We preach it, we quote it, and we thank God for it. But let’s be honest—many believers never truly experience the fullness of grace. It’s not that grace isn’t there. It’s not that God is holding back. The problem is that self often stands in the way, blinding us from the revelation of grace that’s already flowing.

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The Subtle Enemy of Grace: Self

Grace is God’s unearned favor, His divine empowerment to live beyond ourselves. Yet, self finds ways to resist it:

• Self-guilt says: “I don’t deserve grace.”

Deep down, you know you’ve fallen short. You know you’ve done wrong. Instead of running to grace, self whispers that you should work harder to earn it. This turns grace into wages and shifts your trust back onto your own effort.

• Self-sufficiency says: “I don’t need grace.”

When life is going well, pride convinces you that you’ve got it handled. You think grace is only for the weak moments, so you settle for living in your own strength. But self-reliance blinds you from the everyday, sustaining grace that was designed to carry you.

• Self-deception says: “Grace covers me no matter how I live.”

This mindset cheapens grace. It assumes you can live any way you want and God will just overlook it. But this isn’t grace—it’s presumption. True grace doesn’t excuse sin; it empowers us to overcome it.

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Why Dying to Self Is Necessary

The reason Scripture calls us to die to self is not to strip us of identity or power. It’s to remove the veil that blocks us from seeing grace clearly. Self wants to either earn grace, ignore grace, or abuse grace. But when self dies, the door opens for us to see grace as it really is—God’s unending, empowering presence in our lives.

This is why Paul said in Galatians 2:20:

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

When Paul died to self, he didn’t lose life—he discovered the fullest expression of it through grace.

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Grace Revealed in Obedience

Here’s the connection: the more we align with God, the more clearly we see His grace at work. Obedience doesn’t earn grace—it reveals it. Grace is like electricity running through a house. It’s always available, always flowing. But obedience is the switch that turns the light on.

The more we walk in surrender, the more we recognize:

• Grace carried me through that situation.

• Grace gave me strength when I should’ve broken down.

• Grace gave me wisdom I didn’t have on my own.

Self can’t recognize these things because self always wants the credit. But when obedience grows, so does our revelation of grace.

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The Empowerment We’ve Been Missing

The world tells us empowerment comes from motivation, grit, and pushing ourselves harder. But Kingdom empowerment is different. It’s not the power of self; it’s the power of surrender. It’s not found in doing more, but in dying more.

The paradox is this: the less of self we rely on, the more of grace we encounter. Grace is not the backup plan for when self fails—it’s the original plan for how we were meant to live all along.

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Final Thought

If you’ve struggled to understand grace, maybe it’s because self has been in the way. Let go of guilt, pride, and presumption. Flip the switch of obedience, and let grace light up every corner of your life.

Because grace isn’t waiting to show up—grace is waiting to be revealed.