5 Minutes with Jesus” is a daily devotional series for people in the midst of real life, whether facing anxiety, grief, questions of purpose, or simply needing encouragement and connection. Hosted by Sheila Walsh, each five-minute episode offers Biblical truth, honest reflections on faith and emotions, and closes with a moment of prayer.
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| Sheila Walsh: When Life Feels Heavy | 5 Minutes with Jesus | October 23, 2025
- Grace is the opposite of karma.
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- We get what we don't deserve.
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- The love, mercy, forgiveness of god.
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- Grace is unmerited favor.
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- Grace is here for you right now, in the middle of what's heart,
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- Of what is not working.
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- I love knowing
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- That god has big grace and his power works
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- When you and i are weak.
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- I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from satan,
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- To torment me and keep me from becoming proud.
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- Three different times i begged the lord to take it away.
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- Each time he said, my grace is all you need.
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- My power works best in weakness.
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- That's in second corinthians chapter 12, verse seven.
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- So what was this thorn in the flesh
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- That paul writes about?
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- Well, theologians over the ages have debated what paul's thorn
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- Was for us here.
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- Honestly, the answer to that is not important.
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- What matters to us is what god told paul three different times.
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- I begged the lord to take it away.
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- Each time he said, my grace is all you need.
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- My power works best in weakness.
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- Paul is being clear. paul is weak.
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- He's not enough. he's in pain.
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- And he's asking god to fix it, to take away the weakness.
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- God says no.
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- Then god says these two things.
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- My grace is all you need.
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- And my power works best in weakness.
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- The greek word skolops used in this passage
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- Can be translated as thorn, but just as likely as steak.
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- The image of a steak is one of something
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- Driven straight into the heart.
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- So whatever it was, it cost paul dearly.
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- So think about paul's life.
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- He'd been blinded by a vision of the risen christ.
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- He'd been used to see countless men and women saved
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- And had been given the gift of a vision from god.
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- So great.
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- So above our understanding
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- That he was not able to talk about it.
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- He was taken to paradise
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- And shown things to wonderful to put into words.
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- Quite a spiritual resume.
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- Yet here he opens his heart to us.
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- And he lets us know i'm not okay.
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- I'm not enough.
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- God's answer to paul is his answer to us.
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- My grace is sufficient.
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- It's enough for you.
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- My strength works best in weakness.
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- What is grace? i mean, we sing about it.
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- We say it before meals.
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- But what is the grace of god?
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- What does it mean?
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- Our not enoughness.
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- How does it meet that grace is a gift unique
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- To those in relationship with god.
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- No other religion offers grace.
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- When i was in seminary in london,
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- I used to visit all souls church
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- And listen to john stott teach.
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- This is how he described grace.
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- Grace is love that cares
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- And stoops and rescues.
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- Grace is the opposite of karma.
- 00:03:01.404 --> 00:03:03.773
- We get what we don't deserve.
- 00:03:03.773 --> 00:03:05.575
- The love, mercy, forgiveness of god.
- 00:03:05.575 --> 00:03:09.078
- Grace is unmerited favor.
- 00:03:09.078 --> 00:03:11.948
- Grace is here for you right now,
- 00:03:11.948 --> 00:03:14.417
- In the middle of what's heart, of what is not working.
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- The writer, of the hebrews, described it this way.
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- Let us then, with confidence,
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- Draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy
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- And find grace to help in times of need.
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- Hebrews chapter four god says his grace is enough for you.
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- But the text goes on.
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- For my strength is made perfect in weakness.
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- If you feel weak today, come and receive his grace.
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- It's okay not to be okay.
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- God is with you. let's pray.
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- Father, you know that we will never be enough.
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- You know that we struggle.
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- You know that we feel like we fail and we fall down.
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- But, lord, i want to thank you
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- For your grace that reaches out to us and lifts us up.
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- And, lord, you've promised us
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- That your strength is made perfect when we feel weak.
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- So we confess our weakness.
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- And we rest in your strength today.
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- In jesus name. amen.
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