By Tolulope Adegoke

“Without wisdom – the wisdom that comes from above – you cannot end up above all! The wisdom that is above is the one that sets you above! So, divine wisdom is a provoker of grace! While grace, is a divine opener of every great and impossible door!” – Tolulope A. Adegoke

The grace of God is one indispensable factor for self-discovery, true success and lasting accomplishments. Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:10 says, “But by the grace of God I am what I am…” Whatever you will become, it is grace that determines it; wherever you will reach, it is grace that determines it. Again, in Ephesians 4:7, the Spirit of God says through Paul, “But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” This means that when we say that a person is gifted or talented, we are simply saying that such a person is endued with grace!

It is grace that causes your gifts to be seen. It is possible to be gifted or talented and remain hidden. It is grace that uncovers talents. It is grace that uncovers the treasures that are inside of you! Grace is what strengthens the weak! In 2 Corinthians 12:9, Apostle Paul says, “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” Apparently, therefore, the strength that the weak can enjoy is only accessible by grace.

Without the gift of grace, a person’s destiny can be easily frustrated! So, if destructive frustration is to be eliminated from the path of your destiny, it can only be achieved by divine grace.  Ephesians 2:4-7 says, “

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”

Therefore, the grace of God is the greatest demonstration that He loves us.

Again, Paul, in 1 Corinthians 1:4 says, “I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ.” When the grace of God is upon the life of a man, he does not come behind in anything. It is therefore important for you to understand that grace is a non-negotiable factor in the race of life. This is why you must not only be loaded with grace but must increasingly be so.

See, friend, you cannot run the race of life successfully without grace. It is the grace of God that makes the pursuit of destiny to be without depression or frustration. Grace means that we are doing the racing with God, which provokes ease and breakthroughs, against all odds! Here is the way Zechariah 4:6-7 beautifully puts it, “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.”

Here is something else to blow your mind. There is no record of achievement recorded in the Scripture that cannot be broken in this generation. You only need to obtain greater grace. Hebrews11:39-40 confirms to us that God has ordained every feat you can see to be broken: “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.”

This means that whatever we can see written in the scriptures is not yet the perfect or final result – because God said He has better things for us! In fact, as the Scripture says, everything written a foretime was written for our learning so that we may through the comfort and patience of scriptures have HOPE!

Everything recorded in the Scripture was written for our learning. That is to say, all the amazing feats recorded in the Scripture were written as patterns for us – if we can do what the champions did, if we can engage what they engaged, then we must see what they saw or even beyond! Hebrew 6:12 says: “That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

The example of Joseph is particularly interesting and instructive. He is such an interesting picture in the Scripture because he exemplifies the possibilities in God for every one of His children. Genesis 39:2-6 says: “And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.   And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand.   And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.   And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.   And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured.”

The grace of God was so mighty upon Joseph that even while in a foreign land, he was well-favoured. The effect was that Potiphar literally handed over his house to him. Again, by the time Joseph was wrongfully sent to prison, the Bible notes that the prisoners were basically handed over to him to manage (Genesis 39:21-23).

When Joseph eventually interpreted Pharaoh’s dream, Pharaoh practically handed over the entire nation to him. Genesis 41:37-41 narrates, “And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.”

What am I highlighting here? Grace can transition a nonentity to a celebrity overnight; it does not take time; it takes GRACE! So child of must understand the power of God’s grace and make the most of it.

It is equally important to see that the grace of God on the life of Joseph was provoked by the force of divine WISDOM, as Pharaoh himself testified.  The grace of God upon his life functioned on the platform of divine wisdom. No wonder the Bible tells us that wisdom is the principal thing, because where there is wisdom, there will be grace and where there is grace, you become great – that is, emerge a hero!

Observe closely that I call the kind of wisdom that Joseph demonstrated divine wisdom. This should reveal to you that the wisdom that makes great is not natural wisdom; it is not diabolic wisdom; it is not academic wisdom – it is wisdom that comes from above. And here is the truth: Without wisdom – the wisdom that comes from above – you cannot end up above all! The wisdom that is above is the one that sets you above! So, divine wisdom is a provoker of grace! While grace, is a divine opener of every great and impossible door!

Watch out for the Book titled: “The Power of an Empowered Zero” (From Zero to HERO) by Tolulope A. Adegoke. Foreword by Dr Yomi Garnett (CEO/Chancellor, Royal Biographical Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania U.S.A., U.K., Abuja, Nigeria.) Edited by Ola Aboderin.