Grace Is The Ground Under My Feet
Grace is connection turned on, the live signal of Jesus guiding every step
Devotional Credit: Abide Above by Miles Stanford
Photo Credit: Unsplash
The line that steadies today is simple. The law is not of faith. Miles Stanford invites us to stand on grace as our everyday ground, not on rule keeping as our rule of life. He points out how easy it is to drift into religious systems that look impressive but quietly nudge us back to self effort. Stanford thanks the Lord for giving the Holy Spirit as our Guide in the present, so we are not dragged backward into yesterday’s patterns or pushed ahead into systems that belong to a future age.
He also exposes a common mistake. Many sincere believers treat Jesus as the doorway to Moses. We rejoice that the cross paid our debt, then we strap the law on our backs as our daily map. Stanford reminds us that the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is our map now. We live unto God because we have died to the law in Jesus. This is not rebellion. It is union life.
Another theme shines. Affection grows from relationship, not the other way around. We are the Bride because we are joined to Jesus. We do not earn that place by trying to love enough. Realized privilege produces real obedience. Grace does not make us careless. Grace frees us to walk in step with the Spirit.
Finally, Stanford admits the path can feel complicated. Religious systems crowd the road. Opinions fly. Yet the steps of those who are yielded to the Spirit and the Word are sure. The Lord has not called us to imitate an era that has passed or to pretend we live in an age that has not arrived. He calls us to abide in Jesus now, where His life is the power, the wisdom, and the way. Thank You, Miles, for pointing us back to the simplicity of Christ.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
My child, I have not placed you under the law. I placed you in My Son. You died with Him to the law so that you might live unto Me. I wrote My law within your heart and I gave you My Spirit so that the righteous requirement is fulfilled in you as you walk according to the Spirit. You are no longer a debtor to the flesh, for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made you free.
Do not measure your standing by vows or resolutions. Your standing is Christ in you. I formed you into one body with Him and with His people. From this union flows love, not out of fear, but out of the relationship I secured. When you set your mind on the Son, grace trains you to say no to what does not fit and yes to what reflects His life.
I began a good work in you and I am carrying it on. I work in you to will and to do for My good pleasure. Fix your eyes on Jesus. Rest in My finished work and walk by the Spirit. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty, and in that liberty I conform you to the image of My Son.
Scripture References: Galatians 3:12; Galatians 2:19-21; Romans 7:4-6; Romans 8:1-4, 12-14; Colossians 2:13-17; Ephesians 2:8-10; 2 Corinthians 3:6-18; John 15:4-5; Colossians 1:27; Romans 6:1-14; Galatians 5:16-25; Philippians 1:6; Philippians 2:13; Hebrews 10:14; Romans 10:4; Acts 15:10-11; Matthew 11:28-30; 1 John 5:3; Titus 2:11-12; 1 Corinthians 15:10; 2 Peter 1:3; Jeremiah 31:33-34; Ezekiel 36:26-27; Ephesians 1:22-23; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Romans 12:5.
Real-Life Analogy
Think about airplane mode on a phone. With one tap the device disconnects from every live signal. Messages stop. Calls do not come through. You can still poke around the menus, but there is no real connection. Turning airplane mode off does not add more buttons to press. It simply receives what is already in the air. Living under the law is like staying in airplane mode and trying to manage life with offline settings. Grace is like switching the connection back on so the living signal flows.
Where could this land today. Suppose a tense email sits in your inbox and you want to draft a set of personal rules to keep yourself in line. Instead, you pause and say, Lord, I trust You to live Your life through me in this moment. Then you answer with a calm honesty, allowing the Spirit of Jesus to express Himself through you. No self punishment. No white knuckles. Just connection and trust.
Prayer of Confidence
Lord, thank You that I am not under law but under grace. In Jesus I died to the law so that I might live unto God. I rejoice that the Spirit of life is my rule of life, and that love flows from the relationship You secured. I gladly stand my ground in grace today, trusting You to express Your life in my thoughts, my words, and my steps.