Today we continue our series entitled “Living the Grace Life,” where we will learn to embrace and walk in God’s unmerited, unearned, and often undeserved favor throughout 2025.
Key scriptures for this year:
2 Corinthians? ?9?:?8? ?TPT??
“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.”
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??Galatians? ?5?:?4? ?TPT??
“If you want to be made right with God by fulfilling the obligations of the law, you have cut off more than your flesh—you have cut yourselves off from Christ and have fallen away from the revelation of grace!”
Romans? ?6?:?14? ?ERV??
“Sin will not be your master, because you are not under law. You now live under God’s grace.”
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1 Corinthians? ?15?:?10? ?NIV??
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.”
Additional scriptures for today:
James 1:2-4 NIV
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Philippians 1:6 NIV
“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Hebrews 12:1-2 TPT
“As for us, we have all of these great witnesses who encircle us like clouds. So we must let go of every wound that has pierced us and the sin we so easily fall into. Then we will be able to run life’s marathon race with passion and determination, for the path has been already marked out before us. We look away from the natural realm and we fasten our gaze onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection.”
Setting the Stage:
Throughout this series, we’ve been exploring different dimensions of God’s amazing grace. Today, we’re going to dive deeper into how God’s grace specifically equips us to overcome the challenges that stand between who we are now and who God has called us to become.
Every believer faces that gap–the distance between our current reality and God’s ultimate purpose for our lives. That gap isn’t just filled with time; it’s filled with challenges, obstacles, and resistance. The journey from who you are to who God called you to be is almost never a straight line. No no matter how many mountains you have to climb, or valleys you have to walk through, God has given you the grace for it!
Here’s the question: Will you settle for less than God’s best? Or will you tap into the grace that empowers you to hold on, press through, and become who God destined you to be before the foundations of the world?
The Apostle Paul is a great example of this. From the moment he was Born-Again on the road to Damascus, he was given a glimpse of God’s ultimate purpose for his life. But between that revelation and the fulfillment of it was years of opposition, hardship, and challenge. How did he do it? I will answer in his own words, “I worked harder than all of them–yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).
So, what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. God’s Grace Gives You the Endurance to Hold On When Everything in You Wants to Let Go.
The journey to becoming who God called you to be will inevitably include seasons when everything in you wants to quit. Your emotions will say, or maybe even scream, “enough!” Your logic will present compelling arguments for why you should settle for less. Even well-meaning friends may suggest more comfortable alternatives. In these moments, God’s grace provides supernatural endurance that goes beyond human willpower or determination.
How this applies to you:
— When facing long seasons of challenge in your career where progress seems minimal and opposition feels constant, grace gives you the endurance to hold on one more day–and sometimes, holding on one more day is all you need!
— In moments when your dreams seem impossibly distant, and you doubt whether or not you even heard God, grace anchors you to His promise and empowers you to stand firm.
— We have all faced seasons where the results seemed minimal, and the challenges were maximal. But many of us, by the grace of God, pushed through these seasons. Looking back now, we can see how critical those seasons were to becoming who God called us to be.
— The times when you feel pulled in multiple directions by competing demands are the times when God’s grace gives you peace and clarity.
— Remember, Joseph endured 22 years between his dream and its fulfillment. David waited 20 years between his anointing and his coronation as King of Israel. Abraham waited 25 years for Isaac. Their stories remind us that 1) God’s promises have a due date, and 2) we must hold on long enough for our promise to come DUE!
2. Grace Transforms Challenges from Obstacles into Building Materials.
From our limited perspective, challenges often appear as obstacles blocking our path to becoming who God called us to be. But through the lens of grace, we see that God is actually using those very challenges as building materials to construct the character, wisdom, and strength we require to walk into our destiny.
How this applies to you:
— That difficult colleague, boss, or cousin who pushes all your buttons isn’t just an obstacle to workplace or family peace–God can use them and their abrasive ways to help develop your patience, wisdom in conflict, and ability to love difficult people.
— Financial setbacks that seem to delay your progress aren’t just roadblocks–God can use these moments to help develop your stewardship skills, creative problem-solving and trust in His provision. These are all things that will be essential for the larger calling ahead.
— The project that failed despite your best efforts isn’t just a career disappointment– God can use it to help develop humility, resilience, and discernment, which will all be crucial for the larger opportunities in your future.
— Health challenges that limit your activity aren’t just frustrating restrictions. God can use these times to deepen your dependence on Him and give you greater compassion for others who suffer.
— That season when you felt overlooked for promotion or recognition wasn’t just a career setback–it may have been a moment where God tested your heart, checked your motives, and developed your character to ensure you could handle the platform He was preparing you for.
— James tells us to “consider it pure joy” when we face trials precisely because these challenges are being transformed by grace into the essential components of our spiritual maturity and destiny fulfillment.
3. Grace Provides Perspective When You Can’t See Progress.
One of the most challenging aspects of becoming who God called you to be is that progress is often imperceptible in the moment. Like a child who doesn’t notice their own growth because they see themselves every day, you may fail to recognize how God is developing you through daily challenges. Grace gives you the perspective to trust the process when visible progress is lacking.
How this applies to you:
— During seasons of preparation that seem disconnected from your calling, grace helps you see how God is strategically developing skills and relationships you’ll need for what’s ahead, even when the connection isn’t obvious yet.
— Through the most difficult leadership challenges, grace helps you recognize that your capacity is being expanded even when your circumstances haven’t yet changed!
— During spiritual dry seasons when God seems distant and your growth unnoticeable, grace helps you trust that the deepest roots grow in the dark, out of sight but essential for future stability and fruitfulness. God prepares greatness in obscurity!
— Remember Moses spent 40 years in Midian, seemingly going nowhere while tending sheep–yet God was developing the humility and intimacy he would need to lead Israel. Grace gives you perspective when you feel hidden or forgotten.
4. Grace Empowers Persistence Through Process.
Becoming who God called you to be is not an event–it’s a process. And that process requires persistent, consistent effort over time. This is where many abandon their journey. They give up before their time.
How this applies to you:
— When the daily disciplines required for your professional development feel monotonous or unrewarding, grace provides the sustained motivation to remain consistent when human enthusiasm fades. In other words, God will give you JOY in seasons when you feel like you are spinning your wheels.
— The type of persistence I am talking about is not just willpower. It’s empowered by grace that works in you both “to will and to act” (Philippians 2:13).
— Grace empowers you to push through plateaus when progress seems to stall.
— In seasons where you’re required to do the same faithful work without recognition or advancement, grace enables you to persist without becoming bitter or cutting corners out of frustration.
— Remember, every significant biblical character faced the test of persistence. Noah built an ark for 120 years. Abraham followed God for 25 years before seeing the promised son. David was anointed king but spent years in wilderness hiding. Their success wasn’t just in starting well but in finishing well, empowered by grace.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for the grace that empowers me to overcome every challenge on the path to becoming who You called me to be.
Your grace gives me supernatural endurance to hold on when everything in me wants to let go.
I embrace challenges not as obstacles blocking my path but as building materials You’re using to construct Your purpose in my life.
When I can’t see progress, Your grace gives me perspective to trust the process, knowing that the deepest growth often happens out of sight.
I release my timeline, my expectations, and my comfort to fully embrace the grace-empowered journey of becoming all You created me to be.
Living this way, I experience THE GRACE LIFE in 2025, and I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!
I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and prosper!
