🔁 Death That Delivers Life

Just as a light flows with a simple switch, resurrection life flows as we yield to Christ within.

📚 Devotional Credit: In Christ by E. Stanley Jones
📸 Photo Credit: Unsplash

Paul’s words in Galatians 2:20 are not merely poetic—they are powerfully practical. E. Stanley Jones lifts this verse out of the Galatian controversy and places it before us not as theological debate, but as a lived reality. The issue wasn’t just justification by faith—it was identity. Is Christ enough, or must something be added? And if Christ is enough, what does it mean to live in that truth?

Jones observes that choosing to be crucified with Christ brings life, but refusing it leads to a different kind of crucifixion—one where the self hangs alone, caught in inner turmoil without redemption. He contrasts the redemptive surrender of the self to Christ with the fruitless self-affliction of striving to make life work apart from Him.

The life of faith, then, is not just trust in Christ's faithfulness—it is animated by Christ’s own faithfulness living in us. When I yield to Him, it is not I who live, but Christ. This is no metaphorical flourish. This is the risen Jesus practically living His life through mine—in my flesh, in real time. I don’t merely live because He died. I live because He rose—and His resurrection now animates every surrendered moment of my life.

This is the life of abiding. Not merely believing about Him, but living in Him. The cross and the empty tomb are not just historical—through surrender, they become personal and transformational. There is no need to live crucified on the cross of my own frustration, when I can rest in the finished work of Christ and let Him live His risen life through me.

📓 Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture

You are not alone on the cross of your inner conflict, beloved—not anymore. You have been united with Me in death, so that now you may live by My life. My cross and resurrection are not far-off events—they are present realities that I have made your own. You were crucified with Me, and now I live in you.

This life is not your striving—it is your surrender. I do not ask you to muster belief in yourself. I supply the faith. My faithfulness flowing in you kindles your trust. My love expressed toward you draws your heart near. Your job is not to generate, but to receive and yield.

I live through your real moments—in your body, your schedule, your family, your thoughts. Let Me be your breath and action. I did not redeem you to watch you exhaust yourself trying to live the Christian life. I redeemed you to be your life. So stop hanging on the cross of self-effort. You’ve already died. Now let Me rise in your today.

Scripture References: Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:6–11; Colossians 3:1–4; John 15:4–5; Philippians 1:21; 1 John 4:19; 2 Corinthians 4:10–11; Romans 8:11; Ephesians 2:6–7; Hebrews 12:2

🧂 Real-Life Analogy

It’s like flipping a light switch. The power is already flowing through the wires, but the room stays dark until you yield to the switch. You don’t generate the electricity—you simply allow what’s already available to flow. Likewise, Christ’s resurrection power is present and ready, but it flows through yielded trust.

Today, as you navigate your relationships, tasks, or even those thoughts that try to stir unrest, pause—not to try harder, but to yield. Let the risen Christ be your patience in a tense conversation, your clarity when you feel foggy, your peace in the face of a deadline. Whisper within, “Jesus, this life is Yours—be Yourself in me here.” And He will.

🙏 Prayer of Confidence

Jesus, thank You that I’ve already been crucified with You. I no longer live out of my old nature, but out of Your risen life within me. I am not waiting for more faith, more strength, or more love. You are all these in me. I rest in the reality that I’m not called to perform, but to yield. As I walk through today in the flesh, I rejoice that You are the One living through me. And in that, there is peace.