Text: “Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah, and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.” — 1 Kings 18:46
Introduction
There is a speed that belongs to effort. There is a speed that belongs to experience. And there is a speed that belongs to grace. In the natural, men run by training. But in the realm of the Spirit, men run by touch. The hand of God can come upon a man, and in moments, he can overtake those who have gone ahead with horses and chariots.
This is not fiction. It is divine fact. Elijah ran and outran Ahab’s chariot. Not because he trained harder. Not because he had better sandals. But because the hand of the Lord came upon him. When grace supplies momentum, delay is reversed, time is redeemed, and the journey is shortened.
We live in an age of anxiety about time. “I am behind.” “I am too late.” “I wasted too many years.” But grace is not bound by the clock. The God who made time can override it. The God who formed the sun can hold it still. The God who raised the dead can revive lost opportunities. And the same God who sent divine speed to Elijah can do the same for you.
Today, we proclaim the mystery and majesty of Grace for Divine Speed.
I. Grace Overrides the Natural Order
Ahab rode on chariots—powered by horses. Elijah ran on foot. Logically, there should be no contest. But grace does not submit to logic. It rewrites equations. What should take ten years can take ten months. What should require a network can be done by favor. What men wait for, grace can release ahead of time.
Isaiah 40:31 declares, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles.” Not run, but mount up. That is speed beyond terrain. Speed that defies obstacles. Speed that flies.
When grace touches a man, he does not walk according to his surroundings—he walks according to divine arrangement. Psalm 18:29 says, “By my God have I leaped over a wall.” That is not normal progress. That is accelerated breakthrough.
Grace can take Joseph from a prison to a palace in one day.
Grace can take Esther from an orphan to a queen in one night.
Grace can take David from the bush to the throne in one battle.
This is divine speed.
II. Grace Recovers Lost Years
Some reading this know the pain of wasted time. Years spent in sin. Time lost to disobedience. Seasons squandered in ignorance. You look around and others have gone far. The devil whispers, “You are too late.”
But hear the Word of the Lord in Joel 2:25: “And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten.” Grace can restore not only what was lost—but the years that were lost. It can compress blessing. It can give compound restoration.
The prodigal son wasted his inheritance, dishonored his father, lived among pigs. But when he returned, grace met him with a robe, a ring, and a feast. It did not take years to rebuild trust. Grace collapsed time.
There are some things only grace can restore. No amount of work or planning can redeem the past. But grace does not merely take you forward—it makes up for what was left behind. It shortens the gap. It bridges the delay. It multiplies impact.
III. Grace Grants Speed for Kingdom Assignments
There are seasons when God must move quickly. The purposes of heaven demand urgency. In such times, grace releases divine speed—not for personal ambition, but for kingdom alignment.
In Acts 8, Philip is caught up by the Spirit and appears in another location after preaching to the Ethiopian eunuch. This was not mere movement. It was divine relocation by grace.
Jesus, in John 4, says, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” He walked, yet accomplished in three years what the world could not finish in centuries. Why? Grace for speed.
Paul the Apostle lived fewer years than many others. Yet his impact, his writings, his church planting, his preaching—stretch across nations and centuries. Grace worked mightily in him.
First Corinthians 15:10: “But by the grace of God I am what I am… I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” Divine speed is not the absence of labor—it is grace that multiplies the fruit of that labor.
IV. Grace Breaks the Yoke of Delay
Delay is not always demonic, but persistent delay often carries spiritual weight. Some delays are engineered by disobedience. Others by human opposition. But there are delays that are purely satanic, set to frustrate purpose.
But grace is a yoke-breaking force. It enters into delay and announces, “Time is up.”
Psalm 102:13 says, “Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.” When grace arrives, time aligns.
In John 5, a man sat by the pool of Bethesda for 38 years. Others went ahead. The system failed him. But Jesus walked in—not with a new method, but with grace—and said, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.” No angel. No pool. Just grace.
When grace comes, the excuses expire. The delay is arrested. The system is bypassed.
V. Grace Enables You to Overtake
In 1 Samuel 30, David returns to Ziklag and finds it burned, his wives taken, his men weeping. But by verse 8, he inquires of the Lord and hears, “Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.”
Overtake? After a head start? After emotional collapse? Yes—grace makes it possible.
Elijah did not just run. He outran Ahab. David did not just recover. He overtook and recovered all.
That is what grace can do. It puts acceleration where loss once stood. It gives you strength to outrun those who had an advantage. Not by envy. Not by force. But by grace.
Joel 2:7-9 speaks of an army that climbs walls, marches straight, and does not break rank. That is divine enablement. That is grace for speed.
VI. Grace Makes Your Feet Like Hinds’ Feet
Habakkuk 3:19: “The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.”
The hind is a deer that walks swiftly, climbing difficult terrains without slipping. Grace gives you hinds’ feet—not just for running fast, but for running surely. It gives agile precision. You do not just move quickly—you move correctly.
In divine speed, there is no confusion. There is no waste. There is no detour. Every step is aligned. Every door opens on time. Every encounter fits into the divine schedule.
Grace is not chaos. It is ordered acceleration.
VII. Grace Protects While You Run
Speed can be dangerous. Those who rush in the flesh often fall into traps. But divine speed is not reckless—it is covered.
In Exodus 19:4, God tells Israel, “I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.” That is grace with protection.
When Peter walked on water, he moved at a speed beyond nature. But when he sank, Jesus caught him. Grace does not leave you exposed. It quickens your pace and keeps your path.
Psalm 91:11 assures us, “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.” Divine speed is not at the cost of divine safety.
How to Access this Grace
This grace is not a myth. It is not reserved for a few. It is available to all who will seek it in humility and faith. Divine speed is not bought with money, earned with merit, or inherited by blood. It is received. And there are clear pathways in Scripture for receiving it.
1. Through Jesus Christ Alone
John 1:16 says, “And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.” Every kind of grace flows from Jesus—saving grace, sanctifying grace, and yes, speed-giving grace.
Grace is not a force detached from Christ. It is part of His person and work. Romans 5:17 explains, “They which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.” If you are outside of Christ, grace cannot be accessed. But in Him, grace is your inheritance.
You begin by believing. You bow at the cross. You confess Him as Lord. And from that moment, you become a candidate for supernatural speed.
2. By Humility
James 4:6 tells us plainly, “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” The proud run by their own strength. The humble cry, “Lord, I cannot run unless You touch me.” Grace is not given to the boastful, but to the broken.
To receive grace for speed, you must first accept your natural limitations. You must surrender your timelines, comparisons, and ambitions. You must kneel before the throne and say, “Father, I am ready when You say go—but I cannot go unless You empower me.”
3. By Asking in Faith
Grace is not forced upon men. It is given to those who ask.
Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” If you need speed, ask. If you are tired of delay, ask. If you see that your effort is not enough, ask.
But ask in faith. James 1:6 says we must ask “in faith, nothing wavering.” Divine speed is not a wish—it is a divine supply for those who believe.
4. By Aligning with Divine Purpose
God does not give speed to those who run away from Him. He gives speed to those who run with Him. You must align your heart with heaven’s agenda. You must seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). When your life becomes an instrument of God’s will, grace flows without resistance.
Many delays are not because grace is absent—but because alignment is broken. You must let God direct your steps, and then He will also direct your pace.
5. Through the Ministry of the Holy Spirit
The Spirit is called the Spirit of Grace (Hebrews 10:29). It is He who quickens the soul, strengthens the weak, and lights the path. When Elijah outran Ahab, it was because “the hand of the Lord” came upon him. That hand today is the Holy Spirit.
You must welcome Him. Cultivate His presence. Yield to His nudges. Pray in the Spirit. Wait in His atmosphere. And when He moves—move with Him.
Zechariah 4:6 reminds us, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.”