Lesson 10: Living by grace through faith
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 
16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,
18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Our life in overcoming an addiction successfully is a life lived with Jesus in His way through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We live by faith – faith is two things: believing something we cannot see or prove, and trusting someone we cannot see. We live by hope - hope is living as if something is true when we cannot see any evidence of it around us. We live by grace – grace is receiving something we do not deserve.

When we live by faith, choosing to trust Jesus to do what He has promised, it might sometimes seem like we are stepping off a ledge or cliff into the air, knowing there is nothing beneath us to catch us when we fall. But Jesus has promised He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), and He has also promised He loves us. So we step out in faith to do the things He is asking of us – to change our life from what has been an addiction in misery to a life of joy and freedom in Him.

When we live in hope, we do not live according to the circumstances we see around us. Rather we live as if the promises Jesus has made to us are already coming true even if we cannot see them yet.

When we live by grace, we do not despair when we fail because we know His promise of salvation was not just for a moment, it is for eternity. He has saved us, and with the same power with which He saved us He also keeps us. This is why the verses for today are important; we do not lose heart even though too often it will seem like we do nothing but fail. Jesus’ promise is that He is able to complete what He has begun in our life.

Verses to memorize: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18.

Your prayer: Dear Jesus, thank You for seeing me through, even times when it seems all I see is failure. I cannot do what You have promised, but my promise to You is to seek to rely upon the Holy Spirit to keep me walking with you every moment of every day, and I ask You to give me the strength to do so no matter what I may feel at any time.