Grace is a word we hear and use so often that many of us don’t even consider its meaning or its work in our lives anymore.
In some ways, it’s become a cliché, a redundancy that floats around in our vocabulary inoculating us to its power in our lives. It’s a word that has been overused, misused, and misunderstood.
Grace is not just a word destined for a plaque on the wall, nor is it a free ticket to sin or do whatever you want. Grace is power. It is supernatural, and a fresh perspective on grace will rejuvenate your walk with the Lord.
I had come to a place where I didn’t consider grace too much. It had become a cliché to me. But as I began to pray for the coming year, the Lord breathed the word grace into my heart, awakening me to consider this supernatural phenomenon once again.
If you’ve gone through my bible study, Fitted For Grace, then you already know that grace moves well beyond unmerited favor. Salvation by God’s unmerited favor towards us is expressed as grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). However, if we never go past the wonder of our salvation to live an abundant life of love and power, fulfilling the desires of God’s heart towards us, then we have shortchanged ourselves by never experiencing the powerful side of grace.
Grace empowers us to do what only we can do when He is living inside of us. He enables us to walk with Him, to accomplish what He has set before us and to live a Godly lifestyle. I believe His grace will propel us forward, moving us closer and closer to our destinies and Him. As we work with grace, we are working with the Lord. As with all of God’s attributes and promises, grace is available in abundance, but we have to learn how to walk in it, how to receive it, and how to apply it to our life circumstances.
Sometimes God’s grace comes along and sustains through tragedy and stressful situations. In those seasons, sometimes it is grace that keeps air flowing in and out of our lungs, causes us to put one foot in front of the other, or merely to get out of bed. It is working in us, and at the time, we don’t recognize it as His grace, but in hindsight, it becomes clear. Other times, His grace is available, but we have to choose to walk in it and to be obedient to the leading of His Spirit in our lives. Life is filled with opportunities to either go it alone or press into Him and receive the grace. His heart, as always, is to shower us with Himself and His abilities:
“Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have more than enough of everything – every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do.”
2 Corinthians 9:8 TPT
The underlying key to a life of grace is a life of pursuit of God Himself!
“And without faith living within us it would be impossible to please God. For we come to God in faith knowing that he is real and that he rewards the faith of those who give all their passion and strength into seeking him.”
Hebrews 11:6 TPT
Consider the freshness of every form of grace being poured out upon you day-by-day and moment-by-moment. We enter every year not fully knowing what lies ahead, but we are assured that God’s never-ending grace is awaiting us no matter what. His grace will empower us to handle circumstances beyond our natural abilities to process, whether they are challenging, victorious, overwhelming or tragic.
Will you join me in making this a year of a deliberate pursuit of God’s presence and the application of grace in your life?
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