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.”
??
??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.”
??
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:
Proverbs 16:9 NIV
“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.”
1 Chronicles 12:32 ERV
“From the family of Issachar there were 200 wise leaders. These men understood the right thing for Israel to do at the right time. Their relatives were with them and under their command.”
James 1:5 NIV
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
Ephesians 1:17-18 NIV
“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you.”
Setting the Stage:
In my last message, we began exploring the grace of strategic wisdom through the story of Joseph. We discovered that God’s grace can manifest in many different ways. Some of the ways that we see (from the life of Joseph) are strategic foresight, divine solution-creation, administrative wisdom, and preparation through testing. As we continue our study of God’s grace and Joseph’s life today, we’ll seek to understand how to tap into and steward the grace for strategic wisdom.
As we saw in Part 1, Joseph’s strategic wisdom wasn’t merely the product of his intelligence or experience—it was a supernatural endowment of grace that enabled him to see what others couldn’t see and implement solutions that others couldn’t envision. But this grace didn’t operate in isolation. Joseph had to steward it, grow into it, and ultimately use it for purposes far greater than his personal advancement. As believers, we often fail to tap into the fullness of God’s grace because we are only focused on ourselves. God’s grace far surpasses selfish desires and ambitions.
God’s grace for strategic wisdom is freely given, but we must learn to receive it, cultivate it, and deploy into our purpose with it for Kingdom impact. This isn’t about striving in our own strength but about cooperating with the grace that God has already provided so we can become the men and women we are destined to be.
So, what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. Embracing God’s Grace Creates Space for Strategic Thinking.
Joseph’s strategic wisdom didn’t emerge in the midst of chaos or busyness. It came during divine moments of reflection and meditation with God. It came through communion between the creation and the creator. In Potiphar’s house, Joseph learned to manage an operation far greater than he had ever managed.
God was with Joseph, and as Joseph learned to walk with God, he discerned what to do and how to do it. In prison, he had time to process his experiences and hear from God. So, when Joseph stood before the Pharaoh, he paused to listen to divine wisdom rather than rushing to respond. He knew that the only way he could provide Pharaoh the answer was by hearing from God because God was the one who was providing a message through the dreams. In the same way, God is always speaking and we must slow down long enough to hear what God is saying to us in any particular season.
How this applies to you:
— Many of us today are so busy that we feel like we must maintain a full calendar to do what God has called us to do. However, when we live THE GRACE LIFE, we discover that we must create time slots on our busy calendars dedicated to slowing down so we can hear from God.
— It’s sad, but many believers today who are executives or business owners are so busy that they don’t make time to think and pray. They feel guilty if they make time to pray and think because this world sees “praying and thinking” as a time when you are not doing anything. But you are doing something. You are making time to hear from God. The time you spend in your prayer closet is not wasted time. The insight you get from God will make you productive when you leave your prayer closet.
— Many believers feel guilty about taking time to think strategically because it doesn’t look like “productivity” in the present. But grace frees you from performance-based metrics and allows you to value the unseen work of strategic reflection. The insight you receive from God in a moment of strategic reflection (a download from heaven) will make you far more productive when you go into the rest of your calendar trying to get “busy” doing what you believe you need to do.
— It is clear that the favor (grace) of God was on Joseph in Potiphar’s house and in the prison. In both cases, Joseph knew what to do and how to do it. So, it is obvious that Joseph spent time with God. He spent so much time with God, learning to discern God’s voice, that when the Pharaoh gave Joseph his two dreams, Joseph was able to receive the answer to each dream. How? Joseph had developed the ability to hear from God. Joseph would have never learned to discern God’s voice if he was so busy rushing from crisis to crisis that he only operated in his humanity. What made Joseph successful in every situation is that he made time to step back from the urgent to focus on the important. This isn’t laziness; it’s strategic stewardship of your mental capacity.
— If you don’t make time to spend time with God, you won’t know what to do or how to do it. So, while you may rush to get BUSY doing something, you won’t be effective. Activity does not equal productivity. You can be very busy and still non-productive. To be more effective and efficient, you should make time to spend time with God.
— Moses regularly withdrew to the tent of meeting to commune with God and receive strategic direction. Jesus frequently withdrew to solitary places to pray before major decisions. He also spent time with the Father in the morning before heading into the day. I like to say that this is how He “received His orders from headquarters.” This practice of creating space for divine strategic input isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity. Give yourself the permission to make time to hear from God and then hold yourself accountable to maintain the discipline to do so. Don’t ever make a major decision without hearing from God and without having peace.
— The world pushes constant activity, but grace invites strategic pause. Joseph had years in prison to develop deep thinking patterns and prayer practices. While you don’t need prison time, you do need regular intervals for strategic reflection. Grace helps you resist today’s cultural pressure for nonstop action and create space for strategic thinking.
— Strategic wisdom often emerges in the quiet, not in the noise. Grace helps you value and protect times of quiet reflection where God can speak more clearly. As Psalm 46:10 reminds us, “Be still, and know that I am God.” This stillness isn’t passive; it’s actively creating space for divine strategic wisdom.
— When you create space for strategic thinking, you’re actually demonstrating faith in God’s grace. You’re saying, “I trust that God’s favor will accomplish more through strategic wisdom than my constant activity could ever produce.” This is living THE GRACE LIFE—depending on God’s empowerment rather than your own effort.
— Grace frees you from the pressure of immediate results. Joseph’s strategic thinking wasn’t just about tomorrow but about fourteen years into the future. When you’re empowered by grace, you can invest time in long-term strategic thinking without the anxiety that comes from needing immediate results or validation.
2. Grace-Empowered Strategic Thinking Creates Kingdom Impact Beyond Personal Success.
Joseph’s strategic wisdom didn’t just benefit him personally; it saved an entire region from starvation, preserved his family line, and positioned him to fulfill God’s Kingdom plans and purposes. His wisdom had Kingdom impact that extended far beyond his own success. This is the way God wants us to live.
How this applies to you:
— Grace gives strategic wisdom for purposes larger than personal advancement. Joseph’s promotion wasn’t the end goal; it was the means to a greater Kingdom purpose. In the same way, the strategic wisdom God gives you by grace isn’t just to make you successful but to position you for Kingdom impact. God wants to raise you up to impact the sphere of influence He has planted you in.
— Joseph’s wisdom saved not just Egypt but surrounding nations, including his own family—the lineage through which the Messiah would eventually come. The grace-empowered strategic thinking God develops in you will have generational implications you can’t yet see.
— Notice that Joseph’s wisdom influenced an entire nation that didn’t worship his God. God’s grace is on your life to impact secular environments, not just Godly ones. This is why God wants to position His people with strategic wisdom in every sphere of society—business, education, healthcare, government, arts, and more.
— Joseph used his position not for personal enrichment but for public good. The strategic wisdom God gives you by grace is meant to serve others, not just advance your career or business. In other words, it’s not about you. It’s all about HIM! Grace removes selfish ambition from strategic thinking and redirects it toward Kingdom advancement.
— Through Joseph’s strategic leadership, even a secular system (Egypt’s government) became a channel for God’s provision. Your influence in your workplace, industry, or community can transform wordly systems into channels of blessing.
— The greatest test of grace-empowered strategic wisdom isn’t personal success but kingdom impact. Are your strategies advancing God’s purposes in the earth? Are they creating opportunities for others to experience God’s goodness?
3. God’s Grace Can Transform Challenges into A Strategic Advantage.
One of the most remarkable aspects of Joseph’s story is how he leveraged his painful past for strategic advantage. When his brothers came seeking food during the famine, he used his position—the very position their betrayal had ultimately led to—to orchestrate both redemption (saving his family from the famine) and reconciliation (reconnecting with his brothers).
How this applies to you:
— Grace doesn’t just help you overcome your challenges; it transforms them into strategic advantages. By the grace of God, your struggle becomes part of your story. Your mess becomes your message. Your test becomes your testimony. Joseph’s understanding of betrayal, false accusation, and imprisonment gave him the wisdom he couldn’t have gained any other way. In the same way, grace can transform your wounds into wisdom, your scars into stars.
— Joseph strategically used his painful history with his brothers not for revenge but for redemption. Your greatest lessons in life often come out of your deepest struggles.
— When Joseph finally revealed himself to his brothers, he made this profound statement: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20).
— Grace gives you the ability to reframe your challenges and restructure them in your own mind. If Joseph had not reframed what his brothers did to him (in his own mind), then when he saw them, he would have had them killed. He had the power to take them all out. But since he had reframed and restructured the story in his heart and mind, he was able to do what Paul did, which was to FIND PLEASURE IN THE PAIN.
— Joseph didn’t waste energy on bitterness over his brothers’ betrayal. God’s grace and
love free you from resentment over past injustices and redirects that energy.
— Strategic grace doesn’t deny the reality of pain; it transforms its purpose. Joseph acknowledged what his brothers had done but reinterpreted it through the lens of God’s greater strategy. Grace enables you to acknowledge your hurts while seeing them as part of a larger divine strategy. The grace of God can help you to reinterpret what others did to the point where you harbor no bitterness in your heart towards them. This does not mean that they did not intend to harm you. But what it means is that, since their poison cannot stop your purpose, God is able to empower you to actually thank Him for the pain others attempted to inflict upon you. Because the pain helped to propel you into your purpose. This is why David could say, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes.”
— Only God’s unmerited favor can give you the capacity to see strategic purpose in painful experiences. This is why strategic wisdom isn’t just intellectual; it’s profoundly spiritual—a gift of grace that transcends natural thinking.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for the grace of strategic wisdom that transforms challenges into advantages and positions me for kingdom impact beyond my personal success.
I declare that by Your grace, I am creating space for strategic thinking, stepping back from the urgent to focus on the important, and hearing Your divine wisdom in times of quiet reflection.
I commit to stewarding the strategic wisdom You give me not for selfish ambition but for Kingdom advancement.
I receive Your grace that transforms my painful experiences into strategic advantages.
I will live today with strategic perspective, seeing beyond immediate circumstances to the greater purposes You are accomplishing through me.
I am living THE GRACE LIFE in 2025, walking in supernatural strategic wisdom. Therefore, 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!
