Joining GodSample

TAP INTO TRAINING GRACE

If you’ve been reading the Bible or going to church for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard a lot about grace. I’ve often heard grace called “unmerited favor.” I like it, but it’s not as robust as grace truly is. Grace not only saves us, but it also carries us.

Grace is God’s power at work in us, to do through us what we could never see or do in our strength. Grace is not a theory or buzzword. It is the actual power of God ready to be unleashed in the life of any person who sees their inability and surrenders to God’s capability. For years, I had believed there was saving grace, but I’d never really known or lived in God’s grace and power for growth. I actually lived like “God saves; I work to grow.” Oh, how I missed it!

As the fullness of God’s grace began to unfold, one passage illuminated grace in a whole new way. Because of these two verses, I began to see grace everywhere in the Scriptures, and not just for saving lives, but also for growing lives that experienced God in power. Here’s what it says:

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.” (Titus 2:11–12)

Look at this! There is one grace of God. It’s for saving and training—grace brings us from death to life, and grace trains us to grow strong in this life and gets us to our eternal home in power. This was revolutionary for me. Everything made more sense now; training grace started showing up in nearly every story and narrative in Scripture. Training grace is a neglected gift of God—especially in cultures where self-sufficiency is celebrated more than interdependency.

Grace is how we join God in watching Him genuinely change our lives. Agreeing to join God is practical and transformational. This is how it works.

PUT IT INTO PRACTICE:

• Boast to God that you are too weak to do what needs to be done in your life.
• Call to mind your most challenging/persistent area of weakness. Thank God that He is able to perfect His power in that exact area.
• Thank God that His grace holds the power to do in you what you could never do in yourself.

This study is adapted from the book, The 7 Resolutions: Where Self-Help Ends and God’s Power Begins by Karl Clauson. The process of spiritual growth isn’t just up to you. Take The 7 Resolutions assessment to discover where you can join God in the work of transformation He is already doing in your life. https://www.7resolutions.com/assessment