Given, Received, Then Lived
Keys surrendered, Jesus guiding every mile as I yield to Him.
Devotional Credit: His Victorious Indwelling, compiled by Nick Harrison
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Some words sound heavy until grace lifts them. Consecration is one of those words. Today’s reading points to a simple, beautiful reality. At conversion, Jesus gives and we receive. In consecration, we yield ourselves, and He gladly receives what is already His. It is not a barter. It is belonging expressed.
I appreciate how Nick Harrison gathers voices that keep the focus on Jesus within. John Pritchard describes consecration as personal, a real handing over to the Lord Jesus. Then the Holy Spirit goes to work within. Edward Dennett adds that the outcome is not our tightened grip, but Jesus expressing Himself through our bodies. That settles the soul. This is not me promising a new level of performance. This is me presenting the whole of me to the One who lives in me.
From our shared lens of the abiding life, this is not a transaction that earns favor. The Father already set His favor on His people in the Beloved. The Spirit makes that favor practical as we yield. He moves us from self management into Spirit direction. He turns members once available to sin into instruments available to righteousness. The initiative, the power, and the fruit are His.
So consecration becomes daily simplicity. Lord, I am Yours, all of me, right here. Take what You already purchased. Think through my mind. Speak through my mouth. Act through my hands. It is restful to live this way, because the One who calls us is the One who does it in us.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I received you when you believed. You were bought with a price. Present your body to me as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this age. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may discern my good and pleasing will.
Yield your members to righteousness. Consider yourself dead to sin and alive to me in the Messiah Jesus. It is no longer you who live, but the Messiah who lives in you. The life you now live in the body, live by faith in the Son of God who loved you and gave himself for you. I work in you to will and to act for my good pleasure.
Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Glorify me in your body. I am able to equip you in every good thing to do my will, working in you what is pleasing in my sight through Jesus. My Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you and gives life to your mortal body. Christ in you is the hope of glory. The God of peace sanctifies you wholly. Faithful am I who calls you. I will surely do it.
Real-Life Analogy
Think about handing your car keys to a trusted valet. You stop trying to inch the car through a crowded lot. You give the keys, and the valet handles the parking and the return. Your part is simple. You entrust the vehicle to someone appointed for that job, then you walk on with a lighter step.
Consecration is like that. You entrust the whole of yourself to Jesus, and the Holy Spirit actively manages what you could never coordinate. Today, before a difficult appointment, take the posture of trust. Say in your heart, Lord, I trust you to direct my words and posture in this meeting, expressing your truth and kindness through me. Then step in with a settled pace, expecting the Lord to work through your ordinary presence.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank you that in Jesus I am already yours. Thank you that you gladly receive what you purchased. Thank you that your Spirit lives in me and makes holy use of my mind, my voice, and my hands. I praise you that your will is not a burden I carry, but a life you express through me. I receive this day as your assignment and I rejoice that the fruit will be yours.
Scripture References for the Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture Section
2 Chronicles 29:31, Romans 12:1-2, Romans 6:11-13, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 2:13, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Hebrews 13:20-21, Romans 8:11, Colossians 1:27, 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, John 15:5, 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, Titus 2:11-14, Ezekiel 36:26-27, Philippians 1:6, Ephesians 1:3