Rethinking Grace: The Mirror, the Ark, and the Power to Transform

What if I told you that the way you’ve been thinking about grace might not be the full picture? Recently on our show, Ask the Prophet we had a great conversation and teaching about Grace. You can find that episode HERE!

Too often, in modern Christian culture—especially within charismatic circles—we confuse grace with tolerance, or worse, with enabling. We say things like “God will never give you more than you can handle” or “We’re under grace, not the law” as if those sayings themselves are scripture. But are they truth? Or just Christian-sounding quips that fall flat when tested against the Word of God?

It’s time for a deeper dive into what grace really is—biblically, spiritually, and practically.

What Grace Is Not

Let’s get one thing clear: Grace is not permission to stay the same. Romans 6 confronts this head-on:

“Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!” (Romans 6:1-2)

You cannot die to sin and still live in it. That's an oxymoron. Grace was never meant to give us a license to sin—it was meant to empower us to be free from it.

Too often we see people abusing the concept of grace by justifying sin in the name of spiritual freedom. That’s not biblical grace; that’s deception. Grace isn’t about staying in sin comfortably—it’s about transformation. It’s about becoming a new creation.

The Structure of Grace: Strong Enough to Resist

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:9: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”

That word "sufficient" is deeper than we think. In the original Greek, it comes from the verb arkeo, which means a structural resistance to outside pressure. Think of it like an ark during a flood, or an arch that holds up massive weight. God’s grace isn’t a chicken nugget tossed your way when you're starving—it’s a fortified structure capable of carrying you through the storm. God’s grace bends but doesn’t break. It’s resilient like the palm trees that bend under hurricane winds but pop back up. It supports, preserves, and empowers.

Grace Is a Mirror

The Lord revealed something profound to me: Grace is a mirror.

When you respond to someone in grace, you hold up a reflection. And that reflection either invites them into self-awareness and repentance—or exposes their resistance. Grace doesn’t retaliate. It doesn’t fight venom with venom. It shows people their own behavior without participating in it. That’s why Jesus could dine with sinners and still remain undefiled. He didn’t compromise truth, but His grace showed people the way back home. 

The Verb “To Grace” – “Joy Ize”In the Greek, “grace” (charis) actually stems from a word meaning joy. The verb form, used in places like Colossians 4:6 (“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt…”), carries the sense of to joy ize—to make stronger, to restore, to edify, to delight. Grace builds up. It strengthens the bond between people. When you speak with grace, people walk away better than they were before. But grace also discerns. It knows the difference between healing speech and harmful generalities. Saying “God’s got this” may sound nice, but when used in the wrong moment, like during grief, it becomes a band-aid on a deep wound. Grace knows what to say—and when to say it. It is a word given in the right season that makes a difference, not just the word itself. 

Salt, Seasoning, and Sacred Speech

Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up… that it may give grace to those who hear.” Here’s the revelation: "corrupt" means without salt—stale, stagnant, and lifeless.

Just as salt preserves and purifies, our words must preserve the unity of the Spirit. Speech seasoned with grace doesn’t mean vague pleasantries. It means Spirit-led words that edify, uplift, and—when necessary—rebuke in love.And yes, sometimes grace looks like boundaries. If someone continues in toxicity despite your gracious responses, cutting off access to your heart isn’t harsh—it’s wisdom. Guard your heart, for everything flows from it (Proverbs 4:23).

Grace in Action: Practical Discernment

Grace doesn’t mean accepting abuse. Let’s stop calling conflict avoidance “grace.” True grace knows when to speak and when to walk away. Grace doesn’t enable dysfunction—it confronts it with the love and truth of Jesus. I have heard people say that God gives them the grace to endure abuse, when it is tolerance of evil not grace. Understand that I am not blaming the victim here, but rather pointing out a much larger problem: Mistaking abuse as persecution and trying to make the suffering holy when it is wholly unncessessary. Sometimes grace intercedes instead of speaks. As a prophet, I’ve received words for people in grief but held them in prayer instead of blurting them out. Why? Because the timing wasn’t right. Even a true word can harm if spoken out of season.

A Higher Frequency

Words carry frequency. Sound creates. And grace operates at a higher frequency than judgment, accusation, or bitterness. When you respond with grace, you speak from a heavenly realm—and you invite others to rise to that level. Like salt, grace preserves relationships, and it also reveals poorly rooted relationships that need severing. It purifies the water flowing from your spirit. It seasons your speech. And when delivered rightly, it can turn an enemy into a friend, a storm into peace, and a heart of stone into flesh.

Final Thoughts: Grace Purifies and Protects

So, is there a limit to grace? There’s no limit to God’s grace. But there is a limit to abusing it. Grace is powerful. It’s purifying. And it’s a weapon—used not to cut people, but to cut through the noise, the lies, the distractions. Grace is the language of Heaven, and when we speak it, we reflect the character of Christ.

So the next time someone throws salt at you—don’t get salty. Be seasoned. Speak with grace!

A Final Prayer
Lord, we break off habits that are not of you, and call forth a renewed mind in the name of Jesus, a renewed mind of Christ, that when we speak, it would be flavorful, but also at the same time, we would have the wisdom to know when to cut off unholy speech. So that way, we do not take anything into our eye gates, ear gates, or heart gates, or even mouth gates, that we're not supposed to. Lord we pray  that we would guard our hearts above all else. And we plead the blood of Jesus over our root systems. We plead the blood of Jesus over our mind, our hearts, our thoughts, our soul, our spirit and our flesh. And we speak life and life abundant. Let our tongue be a tongue that is flavorful. Let our tongue be a tongue that speaks life. Let our tongue be a tongue that changes nations. Let our tongue be a tongue that heals others rather than cuts others in the name of Jesus, Christ.  Let us be seasoned in the way we speak. Amen and Amen.