Grace Does the Lifting
When you step forward, the door opens, grace does the lifting.
Devotional Credit: Charles G. Trumbull, Victory in Christ, Chapter Five, “Victory Without Trying”
Photo Credit: Unsplash
The heart of today’s reading is simple and refreshing. Trumbull points us away from white-knuckle religion and back to the gift of grace. Not a vague attitude from God, but His active work in us and for us. He insists that the Christian life is not primarily about what we do for God, it is about what God has already done for us in Jesus and what He keeps doing in us by His Spirit.
Trumbull’s language is plain. Salvation is by grace. Future glorification is by grace. And this in-between life, the one we live on ordinary Tuesdays, is by grace too. We were saved by His death, and we are being kept safe in His life. That truth relieves the tired soul. It calls us to trust, not to try harder. It calls us to present ourselves to the Lord and rely on the risen life of Jesus within.
I am grateful for Trumbull’s clarity. He reminds the church that grace is not a joint venture. Grace does not borrow our effort to complete its work. Works have a place, but they follow grace, they do not purchase it. This fits the corporate reality the New Testament announces. In the Messiah, we were made alive together, raised together, and seated together. Our victory is shared because our union is shared. We rest, and from that rest, real obedience grows.
If you have carried the quiet pressure to prove yourself to God, let today land softly. You are under grace, not law. The victory you long for is a gift, not a trophy you earn. Thank you, Charles Trumbull, for the reminder.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I dwell in you because you are in Jesus. You were dead in sins, and I made you alive together with Him. I raised you with Him and seated you with Him. This is My work of grace. I did not ask you to lift yourself. I carried you.
As you received the Lord Jesus by faith, walk in Him the same way. Do not trade a gift for a grind. Present yourself to Me, and I express the life of the risen Son through you. Where law says do, grace says done. Where condemnation demands payment, I point to the Cross and the empty tomb.
You say the struggle is loud. I answer with a stronger word. Sin will not rule over you, for you are under grace. You were crucified with the Anointed One, and now you live, yet not you alone. He lives in you. My life in you is your victory. I keep you moment by moment, not by your clutching resolve, but by the power that raised Jesus from the dead.
When temptation whispers, agree with Me. Reckon what I say as true. You are a new creation in the Messiah. Reign in life by receiving the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness. Offer your body to Me as one alive from the dead, and I will work in you what pleases the Father. Your part is trust and yielding. My part is everything needed for life and godliness. Stand in My faithfulness, and walk.
Scripture references: Romans 6:1-14; Romans 5:10; Romans 5:17; Romans 6:14; Ephesians 2:1-9; Ephesians 2:6-7; Colossians 2:6; 1 Corinthians 1:30-31; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Corinthians 15:57; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Romans 8:21; Romans 12:1; John 1:29; Galatians 2:20; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Matthew 14:30-31.
Real-Life Analogy
Think of the automatic sliding doors at the grocery store. You do not push them open. You simply step onto the mat, and a hidden sensor does the work. Grace is like that. As you step forward in trust, the life of Jesus within moves what you could never budge by effort.
Try this today. Before returning that difficult phone call, pause for one quiet breath and say, Lord, I trust You to speak through me with Your patience and truth right now. Then step onto the mat. Do the next simple thing in front of you, while relying on the Spirit of Jesus to carry the tone, the timing, and the outcome.
Prayer of Confidence
Lord, thank You that victory is given, not earned. Thank You that I am alive with Jesus, raised with Him, and under grace. I present myself to You as Yours, resting in Your faithfulness. I receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness, and I walk today as You live through me. All glory to You.