Persevering grace enables every true Christian to have an ongoing loving relationship with Jesus that includes repenting of sin and returning to Him if and when they stray.69
Persevering grace does not mean we will not sin, doubt, wander, or stray. But it does mean that Jesus pursues us and that our new heart eventually longs to return home, much like the prodigal son who eventually came to His senses and returned to His father.
In some ways, living by faith is living in the faith that persevering grace will be awaiting us tomorrow. Many people believe that God’s grace saved them in the past, but they worry about God’s persevering grace being available for them in the future; as a result, they experience doubt, distress, and even despair.
Much like the manna that fed God’s people for forty years in the wilderness, God’s grace is new every day and will sustain us—even tomorrow. You can count on God’s grace!
The result of trusting in God’s persevering grace is the ability to echo the words of Paul, who said to his friends, “I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”70 This is the bedrock of our faith, that God’s grace will not ever end or fail.
How have you seen God’s grace through the power of the Holy Spirit get you through tough times in life?
69 Phil. 1:6–7.
70 Phil. 1:6.