The Atmosphere of Grace

Living in the atmosphere of grace, above the shadow of striving

Devotional Credit:
Abide Above: “Rightly Dividing”

Photo Credit:
Unsplash

Today’s devotional by Miles Stanford invites us to consider the importance of reading Scripture through the lens of our identity in Christ. It warns that when we pull Old Testament experiences—especially from the Psalms—into our current walk with Christ without rightly dividing the Word, we risk misapplying them and sliding back into a spirit of legalism. The Psalms are deeply precious, filled with prophetic insight and heartfelt worship, but they reflect a relationship with God prior to the finished work of Christ. They come from an earthly atmosphere—whereas we are now seated with Christ in the heavenly realms.

The devotional is not discounting the Psalms, but challenging us to filter them through the epistles of Paul and the teachings of the apostles. There’s a critical distinction between the Jewish experience of striving to remain faithful under the law and the believer’s experience of abiding in Christ through grace. For example, the Psalms may express longing and fear of being cast off, while the epistles declare that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

This is a call to spiritual elevation—to stop interpreting our lives through a pre-cross experience and begin walking in the awareness of our post-resurrection union with Christ. Misunderstanding the Psalms or viewing them as the fullest expression of our experience can cause us to stumble. But when seen through the lens of the New Covenant, they overflow with beauty and depth, revealing Christ even in shadows and types.

We are reminded to set our hearts and minds not on earthbound struggles, but on the risen life of Christ within us. His Spirit of adoption now assures us of our secure place in the Father’s embrace. This devotional gently urges us to remain in the right atmosphere for growth: the environment of grace, not the climate of self-effort.

Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture

My beloved, you are not dwelling in the shadows—I have brought you into the light. You are not anchored to the cries of a heart wondering if it is cast off; you are seated in the certainty of the Beloved, hidden with Christ in Me. You are no longer approaching Me from a distance, as David once did, yearning for My presence. You abide in Me, and I in you. The veil is torn. The blood has been shed. The Spirit has been given.

Let your soul drink deeply from the Word that was breathed out after My Son ascended—the Word that reflects your life in union with Him. I inspired the Psalms, yes, and through them, I revealed much of what was to come. But now I call you to read them with new eyes—eyes enlightened by the truth that you are a new creation. Don’t climb back down into fear when I have lifted you into confidence. Don’t anchor your emotions in a covenant that has passed when you are a partaker of a better one.

You are My child, not merely My servant. The Spirit of adoption is your atmosphere now. It is not the language of striving, but of resting—of Christ in you, the hope of glory. Set your affections where you are already placed—in Me. Fix your gaze on what is above, not what is beneath. You live in a heavenly reality, not in an earthly shadow.

Stay nourished in the environment of grace. Let the Epistles be your frame of reference, and let the Psalms be a symphony that reveals Christ more clearly when understood through the lens of your union with Him. You are not climbing toward victory—you are living from it.

Scripture References:
Colossians 3:1–3, Romans 6:4–11, Galatians 2:20, Romans 8:14–17, Ephesians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 3:6–18, Hebrews 8:6–13, Ephesians 2:6, John 15:4, Romans 8:1, Colossians 2:9–10, Hebrews 10:19–22, Romans 5:1–2, 2 Timothy 2:15, Philippians 3:20

Real-Life Analogy

Reading the Psalms as our primary Christian experience is like trying to navigate with a paper map when you already have GPS guiding you in real time. The map is beautiful, detailed, and accurate for what it was made for—but it can’t show you your live location, current traffic, or reroute you when you miss a turn. The Epistles, like a GPS, are filled with real-time directions from the Spirit of Christ within you, calibrated to your identity in Him and your present position in grace.

So when your soul starts to feel lost or disconnected, don’t go back to the old paper map to figure out where you are. Simply turn to the Spirit’s voice within and say, “Lord, I trust You to guide my thoughts and emotions according to the truth of who I am in You.” Maybe that’s in the middle of a stressful meeting, or during a quiet moment when a Psalm about fear or abandonment stirs old doubts. Let Christ in you respond—not by striving to feel secure, but by resting in the certainty of the Spirit of adoption that cries, “Abba, Father.”

Prayer of Confidence

Father,
Thank You that I no longer live in the uncertainty of “have I done enough?” but in the security of Your finished work. Thank You for the clarity of Your Word rightly divided, where I can see who I was before the cross and who I now am in Christ. I trust You to remind me when I forget—to gently lead me back to the atmosphere of grace and truth, where my soul breathes freely and my heart abides in peace.
I rejoice that I am Yours, and that nothing can unseat me from my place in Christ. In every moment, I yield to Your indwelling Spirit, confident that You are working through me from the inside out.

Amen.

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