You are not a victim. You are not a prisoner. You are not a pawn. There is a Reason. There is a Purpose. There is a Planner. Heaven’s throne is not vacant and you are not a hapless puppet hanging on tangled twine. The sovereign God of Heaven never slept last night, and He governed everything that exists – both the macrocosmic and microscopic – while you slumbered in silence. Here’s something I’ve already preached to myself today and, gratefully, I believe it with all of my being:
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” – 2 Corinthians 3:17
I am free from condemnation by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The grave can never own me because the One inside of me has soundly defeated it via resurrection. The same Spirit of Creation who hovered over the seas in Genesis 1:1 is the abiding Spirit who dwells within me and has declared me to be more than conqueror, an overcomer, victorious in battle, made always to triumph in Christ and numbered among those who will celebrate in eternity future around the standing Lamb of Heaven (Revelation 5:6).
Today my body is tired but I am carried by Omnipotence.
Today my mind is fatigued and taxed but I am shepherded by Omniscience.
Today, my calendar is full – and not everything on it thrills me. But not a single appointment will be without the Helper who lives in me.
Today I am free in Jesus Christ and ecstatic to sense it with all of my being. I’ve not gotten over my salvation through Jesus’ offering on my behalf. I am still quite thrilled with what He has given me. The Almighty has broken the chains of my guilt, shattered the accusations which hung above my condemned head, cleansed my deepest stains through the relentless agency of sacrificial blood, has placed a crown on my head (Zechariah 3:5) while defying that hellish prosecutor and all his damning evidence to speak another syllable against my pardoned soul. Jesus shot-locked the devil while he tried to dunk on me. Jesus is still staring him down.
Today, by grace I’ve been disentangled from man’s religion and extracted from the tar pits of legalism and self-justification. In my Christian life and ministry, I have nothing to lose and nothing to prove.
Today, I am humbled and thankful that he Father has shown compassion upon me by providing me the guardrails of biblical truth which provide me safety from transgressing the boundaries of His will. His Word has not dimmed in its illumination of my way and I have never – not for one second – ever been alone in my pilgrimage. The fuller I live in the Spirit, the more my Bible means to me.
Today, my King is reigning, and I’ve been immeasurably blessed to have my everlasting citizenship translated into His royal domain. Along with all others (hopefully you!) who have obeyed His invitation, I sit at the King’s table and banquet with Him in holy joy.
Yes, the Spirit of God brings freedom. I have occasionally been a fool for taking leave of this truth in previous years and giving myself to lesser things.
But not today.
Today, I am convinced like never before, and I can scarcely contain His joy.