I was sitting in church one day, and a sister came over to me and asked how I was. Being as though I am moving through what seems to be an endless trial, I said to her, “The story is still being written.”
He response to me was,” Seems like the theme for this season, for many are being ‘fueled by grace.'” I asked her if I could take that comment and expand on it.
“No worries,” she said. “You can have it!”
I cannot get it out of my head: fueled by grace. I have a mental picture of us as individual rocket ships, needing just the right mix of fuel to launch into the unknown, high above the trials of life. Not only do we need the proper fuel for these times and days, we need to have the proper spark for ignition. I call that spark embracing grace via faith, cooperating with that grace.
The message of grace is empowerment. Without grace, I believe we would implode for sure. The trajectory for our lives, which are often filled with moguls, becomes vague, bleak and hopeless without grace.
Let’s define grace:
1. Strength from the Lord in trying times.
2. Unmerited favor.
3. His mercy and forgiveness to us.
4. Special anointing for specific assignments.
5. A gift.
6. The ability to move through difficulties with poise and peace.
Let’s see how Paul managed his thorn in the flesh.
2 Corinthians 12:8-10 The Message (MSG)
“Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first, I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,
“My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.”
Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become (2 Cor. 12:8-10, MSG).
When we surrender our lives to Christ, the ‘old man’ is dead; we are new creatures in Him, and also, He lives in us, the fullness thereof, of the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. In Scripture, He tells us in the New Testament that we will do greater things than He did (John 14: 12-14). I don’t know about you, but my head has difficulty wrapping around that. But because He said it, I believe it.
It seems like most of the church does not know this or believe it, never mind walk in it. How does this happen? When, we journey to embrace His presence, we will bump into His grace.
Remember the definitions above. When we come to Jesus, we inherit salvation, and many other empowerments. One of the is grace. When we need it, it is there waiting for us to cooperate with it. One of the ways you cooperate with it, is through your faith, and believing that as you journey through your life the fullness of grace is available at any given moment. You believe His word on the subject! I also believe there is a ‘bolus ‘of grace (super grace) when His presence becomes the primary focus.
Have you ever been through a trying time, and when it is done, you wonder how you made it through? I have. It is called grace. His abundant grace!
I have problems with my back. Sometimes I wonder how I will stand to preach. As soon as I “step into the anointing,” which I define as the task He has for me at any given time, grace is released, and many times, all pain disappears. I am lost in His presence and the anointing.
Oh, to stay in that posture all the time.
When the circumstance happens, rather than run from it, embrace it. That is another way to cooperate with grace. When we do this, we are postured to receive it in copious amounts.
Queen Esther received grace on a number of levels when she accepted her special assignment to help save the Jewish population in Susa. Unmerited favor with the king’s household and the king.
Jesus Himself received grace to be able to withstand the brutal lashings and the cross. He cooperated with grace by accepting the assignment.
God’s mercy and grace to us as sinners by sending Jesus, so that our sins can be blotted out and we could inherit eternity, is the biggest grace we can inherit, a huge, priceless gift. I see grace as a multifaceted diamond available to us for whatever we need.
The best part is that we don’t have to work for grace. It is there for us as children of the highest God!
Are you fueled by grace? When the whirlwind swirls around you, are you aware that His grace is for you? Have you tapped into the grace to not just maintain you but encourage and propel you forward? It’s there in its entirety. Grab on with both hands; ready, set, liftoff! {eoa}
Rev. Josephine M. Ayers is the president and founder of Flame of Fire Ministries, Inc. Visit flameoffire.us and email her at [email protected].
Curt Landry 
Michael L. Brown 
Rabbi Eric Tokajer