He Does The Heavy Lifting
Stepping onto a moving walkway, a quiet picture of letting Jesus carry what we cannot produce.
Devotional Credit: Victory in Christ by Charles G. Trumbull, Chapter 1
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Philippians asks us to test what we call the Christian life. Trumbull presses a kind question. Is my kind of Christianity worth sharing with the world. Not the faith in theory, but the life I carried yesterday and this morning. He points to the only version that is worth exporting. The life that Jesus Himself lives.
Trumbull explains that the Lord offers two gifts on the same terms. Freedom from the penalty of sin, and freedom from the power of sin. We received the first as a gift, by letting Jesus do it all. Many of us then tried to tackle the second with willpower, plans, and grit. That was my story for too long. Trumbull helps us see that victory is also received, not achieved. The Holy Spirit produces what the Holy Spirit requires.
He tells simple stories that ring true. Years of up and down effort can leave sincere believers tired and stuck. Then the light breaks in. Victory is not a partnership in which I help God. Victory is Jesus in me. The Spirit of life in Christ Jesus sets a person free from the law of sin and death. The evidence shows up not as white knuckles, but as changed desires.
Trumbull reduces the conditions to two words. Surrender and faith. Let go, and let God … in the truest sense of the common phrase. Place every room of the heart under the Lord’s authority. Then trust Him to be all that He promises in the moment you need Him. Not a theory, a Person. Not a surge of human effort, the life of Jesus expressed through you. That is a kind of Christianity worth sending anywhere.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I call you to My Son. You are crucified with Christ, and you live by faith in the Son of God. Present yourself to God as one brought from death to life. Sin will not rule over you, for you are under grace. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus sets you free from the law of sin and death.
I work in you to will and to act according to My good pleasure. Remain in Jesus, and you will bear much fruit. Walk by the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. Put on the Lord Jesus. Make no provision for the old patterns. Set your mind on the things above where Christ is seated. Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
I finish what I start. My grace is sufficient for you. I am able to make all grace abound to you, so that you have all you need for every good work. The God of peace equips you with everything good for doing His will. Faithful is the One who calls you. He will surely do it. Give thanks always, for I lead you in triumph in Christ.
Scripture references: Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:11 to 14, Romans 8:1 to 4, Philippians 2:13, John 15:4 to 5, Galatians 5:16 to 25, Romans 13:14, Colossians 3:1 to 4, Ephesians 6:10, Philippians 1:6, 2 Corinthians 12:9, 2 Corinthians 9:8, Hebrews 13:20 to 21, 1 Thessalonians 5:24, 2 Corinthians 2:14, Romans 5:17, 1 Corinthians 15:57, 2 Peter 1:3 to 4.
Real-Life Analogy
Think of stepping onto a moving walkway at an airport. You still walk, but another power carries you farther with less strain. Victory in Jesus works like that. As you yield to the indwelling Spirit of Jesus, His life moves you along. The effort shifts from pushing in your own strength to cooperating with the power already at work within you.
Try this today. When a familiar temptation shows up, pause before you act and say, Lord, I trust You to carry me on Your strength right now as I take the next step. Then choose the simple step that fits His life as the Holy Spirit directs, delete the message you should not send, close the tab, speak the gentle answer, walk away with the kind of peace you can only find in Him.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You that in Jesus I am not only forgiven, I am also set free from the ruling power of sin. Thank You that the Spirit of life lives in me, and that Your grace is sufficient in this very moment. I present myself to You with open hands. I rejoice that You work in me to will and to act. Lord, I trust You to do the heavy lifting in my thoughts, my words, and my choices today.