Chased by Grace: The Story Behind the Story

Chased by Grace – The Story Behind the Story | Pursued by a Savior Who Would Not Quit

Have you ever looked back over your life and wondered, “How did I make it through that?”

Maybe what you called survival was actually God’s grace carrying you.

Welcome to Season 3 of the AAA Resilience Podcast: Awaken • Aligned • Activated with Dr. Roland St. Gerard.

In this opening episode of the Chased by Grace series, based on the book Chased by Grace: Pursued by a God Who Would Not Quit, Dr. St. Gerard begins a Christ-centered journey of faith, healing, resilience, and transformation.

Discover how Jesus Christ—the perfect expression of God’s grace—pursues us before we recognize Him, restores what life has broken, and leads us into our God-given purpose.

In this episode, we explore how grace helps us:

• AWAKEN – Discover our true identity in Christ
• ALIGN – Bring our hearts and lives into agreement with God’s truth
• ACTIVATE – Walk boldly in purpose through the power of the Holy Spirit

You will be encouraged to look back over your own story and recognize the fingerprints of God—even in the chapters you did not understand.

Your past does not define you.
Your struggles do not disqualify you.
Jesus is still writing your story.

You are still being…

Chased by Grace.

Scriptures Mentioned

Luke 19:10 – Jesus came to seek and save the lost.
John 1:16 – Grace upon grace through Christ.
Romans 12:2 – Transformation through renewal.
Ephesians 2:10 – Created in Christ for purpose.

Go Deeper

Continue this journey through the book:

Chased by Grace: Pursued by a God Who Would Not Quit
by Dr. Roland St. Gerard

Available on Amazon. Click for Author Page!

Follow Roland St. Gerard’s Amazon Author Page for upcoming books, devotionals, and faith-based resources.

Connect with AAA Resilience

Subscribe and follow the podcast for weekly encouragement designed to help you:

✨ Awaken in Christ
✨ Walk Aligned with His truth
✨ Live Activated by His Spirit

Transcript

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Hello, family, and welcome to the AAA Resilience Podcast, where we journey together to awaken our true identity in Christ, become aligned with God's word, God's will, and God's purpose, and live activated by the power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill our God-given assignment. I am your host, Dr. Roland St. Gerald, and I'm grateful and honored that you are joining me for another season of transformation, faith, and spiritual growth. Welcome to season three. This season is personal. This season is spiritual. And definitely this season is a journey into one of the most powerful forces in the universe. The grace of God revealed through Jesus Christ. That's right. The grace of God revealed through Jesus Christ. We are beginning a series based on my book, Chased by Grace, pursued by a God who would not quit. Because when I look back over my life, I realize my story is not ultimately about my strength. It is not about my intelligence. It is not about my ability to survive. It is about a faithful Savior who never stopped pursuing me. Before I knew his voice, before I understood his purpose, before I recognized his hand, Jesus was already pursuing my heart. That is grace. Grace has a name. Sometimes we talk about grace as if it is only a religious word. Something we say before a meal, something we sing about in church, something we define in theology. But grace is much more. Grace has a face, grace has a name, and his name is Jesus. The apostle John writes in John 1, verse 14, he says, The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory full of grace and truth. Then John declares in verse 16, he says, Out of his fullness, we have all received grace upon grace. The greatest demonstration of grace is not an event, it is a person. Jesus Christ is God's grace walking toward humanity. When we were lost, he came. When we were broken, he touched. When we were guilty, he forgave. And when we were hopeless, he restored. Have you ever stopped and looked back over your life and wondered, how did I survive that? How did I overcome what should have destroyed me? Why did certain doors close? Why did certain people appear in my life at exactly the right time? Why am I still here? For years I looked at pieces of my own story without understanding the full picture. Growing up in Haiti, experiencing childhood challenges, facing environments that could have taken my life in a completely different direction. Making mistakes, searching for identity, looking for belonging. But when I look back now, I see something I could not see then. The footprints of Jesus, the hand of grace, the presence of a savior. I thought I was simply surviving, but Christ was preserving. I thought I was wondering, but Christ was guiding. I thought I was forgotten, but Christ was pursuing. Jesus said in Luke 19, verse 10, for the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. Notice those words. He came to seek. Before we searched for God, he searched for us. Before we called his name, he already knew ours. Before we reached toward heaven, heaven reached toward us. That is the message of chase by grace. Now, the triple A journey of grace, the movement of grace in our lives follows three powerful transformation. Awaken, alignment, activated. Awaken. So grace awakens what life has buried. Before God changes our direction, he opens our eyes. Many people are alive physically, but asleep spiritually. They are functioning, working, achieving, surviving, but inside something is still asleep. Identity, purpose, faith, hope, dreams, calling. Pain has a way of burying what God placed inside us. Disappointment can bury vision. Rejection can bury confidence. Failure can bury courage. Fear can bury purpose. But when Jesus enters a life, he awakens what was sleeping. Paul writes in Ephesians 5.14. The first work of grace is awakening. Grace says, Wake up, you are more than your mistakes. Wake up, your past does not own you. Wake up, God still has purpose for your life. Wake up, the story is not finished. You see, Jesus Christ is the awakener. When Jesus met people, he awakened what others overlooked. When he met Peter, others saw a fisherman. Jesus saw a future leader. When he met Matthew, others saw a tax collector. Jesus saw a disciple. When he met the woman at the will, others saw her past. Jesus saw her purpose. That is grace. That is grace. Grace sees what God created before life damaged it. Hmm. Wow. Now, in triple A reflection question concerning awaken, ask yourself, what has life caused me to forget about who God created me to be? That's the question you should ask yourself now. What has life caused me to forget about who God created me to be? Transformation number two, aligned. Grace restores us to God's design. Awakening shows us who we are. Alignment teaches us how to live. Because it is possible to be gifted but not aligned. It is possible to be successful but spiritually empty. It is possible to be busy but disconnected from God's purpose. Jesus said in John 15, verse 5, I am the vine. You are the branches. Apart from me, you can do nothing. A branch does not produce fruit by trying harder. A branch produces fruit by staying connected. That is alignment. Alignment means my thoughts come under Christ. My desires come under Christ. My decisions come under Christ. My identity comes from Christ. And my purpose flows from Christ. The renewal of alignment. You see, Paul teaches in Romans 12, verse 2, he says, do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. You see, grace changes how we think. The world says, You are what happened to you. Christ says, You are who I created you to be. The world says your failure is final. Christ says, my grace is sufficient. The world says, you are alone. Christ says, I will never leave you. Oh my God. It is a triple A reflection question right now. Unaligned. What area of my life needs to come back into agreement with God's truth? Transformation number three, activated. Grace releases us into purpose. God never awakens and aligns someone just to leave them standing still. Grace always moves toward mission. Jesus told his followers in Matthew 5.16, let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Your life is meant to reflect him. Your testimony has purpose. Your healing has purpose. Your experiences have purpose. You see, Paul writes in Ephesians 2 verse 10, he says, For we are God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works. You were created for contribution. See, your story becomes ministry. The pain Jesus healed can become compassion for others. The struggles he helped you overcome can become encouragement. The lessons he taught you can become wisdom. The grace that came to you is meant to flow through you. And this is now your triple A reflection question on Activated. Ask yourself, how can Christ use my story to bring hope to someone else? And now we can move on to the grace declaration. Declare this with me. Say, I awaken in Christ. My spiritual eyes are opened. My identity in Christ is restored. My God-given purpose is alive. Second, I am aligned with Christ. My heart follows him. My mind is renewed by his word. My life belongs to his purpose. And third, I am activated by the Holy Spirit. My gifts have meaning. My story has value. My testimony has power. Jesus pursued me. Jesus restored me. Jesus is still working in me. I am resilient because I am sustained by grace. I am still being chased by grace. Here's the prayer I like to pray. Lord Jesus, thank you for being the grace that came looking for us. Thank you for pursuing us when we were lost. Thank you for loving us before we knew how to love you. Lord, awaken every place in us that has fallen asleep. Awaken faith. Awaken hope. Awaken identity. Align our hearts with your heart. Align our thoughts with your word. Align our steps with your purpose. Lord, activate the gifts, dreams, and assignments you placed within us. May our lives become testimonies, not of our greatness, but of your amazing grace. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. Favily, we come to the end of today's episode, and I want to remind you, your story is not finished. The same Jesus who met you in yesterday's struggles is still walking with you today and preparing you for tomorrow's purpose. Grace does not simply rescue us from our past. Grace awakens us to who we are in Christ. Grace aligns us with God's truth and purpose. Grace activates us to live the life we were created to live. If today's episode spoke to your heart and you want to go deeper into this journey of faith, healing, resilience, and transformation, I invite you to read my book, Chased by Grace: Pursued by a God Who Would Not Quit. In this book, I share my personal testimony, the struggles, the broken moments, the unexpected turns, and most importantly, the undeniable evidence of a savior whose grace never stopped pursuing me. My prayer is that as you read my story, you will begin to recognize his fingerprints throughout your own. You can find Chase by Grace on Amazon. While you are there, follow my author page, Roland St. Gerard, to stay connected with my books, devotionals, reflections, and future resources created to encourage your journey. Before you go, remember, you are not defined by where you started. You are not limited by what you have been through. And you are not forgotten by God. Jesus is still restoring. Jesus is still transforming. Jesus is still writing your story. So continue to awaken in Christ. Walk aligned with his truth and live activated by the power of the Holy Spirit. Until next time, this is Dr. Roland St. Gerard reminding you stay resilient, stay faithful, stay surrendered because you are still chased by grace. Until next time, I'll see you on the next episode.