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:
2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
Isaiah 40:31 NKJV
“But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
Setting the Stage:
In our last two messages, we explored how grace liberates you and transforms you. Today, we’ll examine how grace sustains you. You can make the argument that our world today is marked by exhaustion, stress, and burnout due to what seems like never-ending demands. When you add the constant barrage of changes that are coming out of the current U.S. administration, you have people who are buckling under the pressure of the conditions of this present world. That said, today’s message will remind you of something powerful: God’s grace can sustain you through all of life’s challenges!
Most of us have been conditioned to believe that sustaining our lives, health, careers, businesses, and marriages depends entirely on our own strength, discipline, and willpower. We push ourselves beyond healthy limits, celebrate the “hustle culture,” and wear our exhaustion as a badge of honor. Even in ministry and spiritual pursuits, many believers operate from a place of striving rather than thriving. They are trying to MAKE everything happen.
But God’s grace introduces a radical paradigm: divine sustenance that doesn’t deplete when your strength does. Paul discovered this profound truth when facing his “thorn in the flesh.” Instead of removing Paul’s challenge, God declared, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). This revelation transformed how Paul viewed his limitations – they became access points for God’s sustaining power.
The grace that saved you is the same grace that will sustain you. Grace doesn’t just rescue you from something; it carries you through everything. As Isaiah declared, those who wait upon the Lord – who rely on His sustaining grace rather than their own strength – “shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
So, what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. Grace Provides Supernatural Endurance.
Human endurance has limits. Human willpower has a breaking point. We all reach points where our strength, wisdom, and resources are exhausted. But grace introduces supernatural endurance that transcends human capacity. This isn’t about pushing yourself harder; it’s about tapping into a divine source of strength. Paul discovered this when he declared, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). Notice he didn’t say “some things” or “easy things,” but “all things.” Grace doesn’t just help you survive challenges; it empowers you to thrive through them. This supernatural endurance isn’t based on your physical stamina, mental toughness, emotional resilience, or bulldog determination – it’s based entirely on God’s sustaining power working through you. When you’re operating in His grace, you’ll accomplish more without burning out because you’re not the one providing the power.
How this applies to you:
— Instead of burning the midnight oil in your own strength, learn to access God’s supernatural endurance through prayer, dependence, and resting in Him.
— When facing seemingly impossible deadlines, changing timelines, or immeasurable challenges, remember that God’s grace provides you with the power to endure and overcome. This power far exceeds human capacity.
— Develop work habits that acknowledge your limitations while relying on God’s limitless resources. This way, you are not relying on you. You are resting in Him!
— In leadership, model sustainable excellence that comes from grace rather than grinding. Don’t create an environment that forces your people to drive themselves into the ground.
— During seasons of high demand, make conscious decisions to rely on divine sustenance rather than caffeine and willpower.
— When others are breaking down around you, you can demonstrate the supernatural stamina that comes from God’s amazing grace.
— Grace enables you to maintain joy and peace even when circumstances would normally produce exhaustion and burnout.
2. Grace Turns Inadequacy Into Advantage.
Most people spend tremendous energy trying to overcome, hide, or compensate for their weaknesses. But grace introduces a revolutionary concept: your inadequacy becomes your advantage when it drives you to rely completely on God. Paul embraced this counterintuitive principle when he declared, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Cor. 12:9). In God’s upside-down kingdom, weakness becomes the very platform for divine strength. When you reach the end of your ability, you reach the beginning of God’s. This doesn’t mean you don’t develop your skills or strive for excellence. It means you recognize that even your best efforts are insufficient without God’s grace. Your credentials, experience, and talents all have limitations, but God’s grace does not.
How this applies to you:
— Stop hiding your limitations and start leveraging them as access points for God’s power. Learn to boast about your weaknesses by letting everyone know what God is doing through you!
— When facing situations beyond your expertise, openly acknowledge your inadequacy while confidently relying on God’s adequacy.
— In leadership, model authentic dependence on God rather than projecting an image of self-sufficiency.
— Approach challenging projects with the confidence that comes not from your capabilities but from God’s unlimited resources.
— Develop a leadership style that demonstrates how inadequacy becomes an advantage when surrendered to God.
— When you don’t know what to do in a situation, view it as an opportunity for God to showcase His wisdom through you.
— The more you learn to rely on God in areas where you are weak, over time, God can covert your areas of weakness into areas of strength.
3. Grace Produces Sustainable Success.
The world’s definition of success often comes with a heavy price: broken health, strained relationships, and spiritual emptiness. But grace introduces sustainable success; achievement that doesn’t destroy you in the process. God made Solomon the richest man on the planet, and he said, “The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it” (Proverbs 10:22 NKJV). This powerful truth reveals that God’s way of blessing and success doesn’t come with the devastating side effects that typically accompany worldly achievement.
Furthermore, the Word reminds us, “My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings… For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh” (Proverbs 4:20-22 NKJV). God’s grace, expressed through His Word, actually sustains our physical health rather than depleting it. This isn’t about lowering your standards or reducing your goals. It’s about pursuing excellence in a way that honors God’s design for your life. Sustainable success recognizes that true achievement isn’t measured just by what you accomplish but by who you become in the process. Grace empowers you to accomplish more while sacrificing less of what truly matters. It’s about working from God’s rest rather than toward it, producing results that glorify Him while preserving the life He’s given you.
How this applies to you:
— Redefine success to include not just what you achieve but how well you steward your health, relationships, and spiritual life in the process.
— Develop rhythms of work and rest that honor both productivity and sustainability. What you want is sustainable success.
— At work, create a culture that values sustainable excellence over burnout-producing performance.
— Set spirit-led goals. When the Holy Spirit leads you, you set goals that stretch your faith without breaking your spirit.
— Measure progress by transformation, not just transaction.
— Build margin (space) into your schedule to accommodate for moments when the Holy Spirit is leaving you to slow down and pray.
— Learn to recognize when striving has replaced surrendering in your approach to work and leadership.
— Allow God’s Word to be “medicine to your flesh” by regularly meditating on scriptures that remind you of His sustaining grace.
— View challenges as opportunities for grace to manifest rather than obstacles to overcome through sheer grit and willpower.
— There are many people in this world who are rich and miserable. Don’t pursue earthly success this way. Trust that God can bless you richly without the processing adding sorrow, stress, or burnout to your life.
4. Grace Is Not Just For Salvation – It’s For Everyday Sustenance.
Many believers relegate grace to the moment of salvation – it saved you then, but now you’re on your own. This tragic misunderstanding robs us of the sustaining power grace provides for everyday life. Grace isn’t just about getting you into heaven someday; it’s about getting heaven into your life every day! Peter reminds us that “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life” (2 Peter 1:3). Everything means everything – not just salvation. Every challenge you face today has already been matched with corresponding grace. Every assignment from God comes pre-packaged with the grace to fulfill it. When God calls, He enables. When He directs, He empowers. The grace that was sufficient to save your soul is the same grace that’s sufficient to sustain your life.
How this applies to you:
— Begin each day by acknowledging your dependence on God’s sustaining grace for that day’s challenges.
— Approach meetings, presentations, and decisions with an awareness of God’s enabling presence.
— When feeling overwhelmed, pause to remember that God’s grace is available not just for eternity but for the moment you are in.
— Develop the habit of “grace breaks” throughout your day – brief moments to reconnect with your source of strength.
— In leadership transitions and organizational changes, emphasize God’s sustaining grace over human strategy. I tell our team all the time, “God’s got us!”
— Create a personal practice of regularly acknowledging your need for divine sustenance.
— Let your life become a testimony of sustainable excellence that points others to the source of your strength. In other words, don’t pursue success in a way that models a life that leads to burnout. Model a life that points people to Jesus!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for Your sustaining grace that carries me beyond my human limitations.
Your grace provides supernatural endurance when my own strength is depleted.
My inadequacies become access points for Your perfect power to be displayed through me.
Your grace is sufficient for every challenge, assignment, and season I face.
I choose to work from Your rest rather than exhausting myself through human striving.
Where my ability ends, Your supernatural power begins.
I live in the confidence that Your sustaining grace will never run out or wear thin.
You saved me, and You also sustain me!
My life is a testimony of Your keeping power!
Living this way, I experience THE GRACE LIFE in 2025 and beyond, and GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!
I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and prosper!
