Hidden With Jesus, A New Center For The Heart
Morning light on a quiet room, a picture of a heart moved from self to the center of Jesus.
Devotional Credit: Abide Above by Miles Stanford
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Some days the early glow of faith seems to dim, and we wonder if we have slipped backward. Miles Stanford reminds us that this dip is often the doorway to deeper life in Jesus. As the Father lovingly shows us that the old self is unreliable, He is not shaming us. He is moving our trust from self toward the risen Lord who is our very life.
The insight is simple and freeing. I am not asked to polish the old man. I am invited to rest in the One who crucified the old and now lives in me. When the Father reveals how self runs in circles, He is not being harsh. He is relocating the center of my heart to His Son. Hidden with Christ in God, I learn to say, “I am not the source, He is.”
This is why new believers often gush over blessings, then later discover a quieter joy. The early sparkle gives way to a stronger anchor. Jesus becomes more than the giver of gifts. He becomes the center. The Father is not stripping us of joy. He is giving us a better joy, the joy of belonging to the Lamb who is worthy.
So today, rather than circling around self, we look up. We set our minds on things above, where our life is safely tucked away in Jesus. As we do, the Spirit shifts our attention from what we are in ourselves to who we are in the Lord. And that transfer brings relief. It is mercy. It is life.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I am in you because you are in My Son. Your life is hidden with Him in God. When you sensed the limits of self, that was My kindness leading you away from a fading source and toward the Living One. I united you with Jesus in His death and I raised you with Him to walk in newness of life. Consider yourself alive to God in Him. Present yourself to Me, and I will express His life through you.
I do not ask you to improve the old. I have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Walk by Me, and you will not gratify the old impulses. I work in you to will and to do what pleases Me. As you abide, His words dwell richly in you. Where you once strained, now you bear fruit because the life of My Son flows through you.
Lift your heart to the things above. Set your affection there. Christ is your life. I have blessed you with every spiritual blessing in Him. You are a new creation. The old has passed away. The new has come. Fix your eyes on Jesus, and let your members become instruments of righteousness. I am faithful to complete what I began. Rest in Me, and walk.
Real-Life Analogy
Think of tossing a week’s worth of laundry into the washing machine. You do not stand there scrubbing each shirt in your own strength. You place the garments where water and motion do the cleansing. In the same way, the Holy Spirit within is the living power at work, not your white-knuckle effort. Your part is to place yourself where His life moves through you, and then let Him do what only He can do.
Try this today in a specific moment. If a tense conversation waits for you, pause at the doorway and quietly acknowledge the source within. Say, Lord, I depend on You to speak with Your gentleness through me right now, and I yield my words and tone to You. Then step in, trusting Jesus to be the patience, honesty, and peace that the moment requires.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You that I have died with Jesus, and my life is hidden with Him in You. Thank You that the old self is not my source. Thank You that Your Spirit lives in me, working in me to will and to do what pleases You. Today I set my mind on things above. I present myself to You as alive from the dead. I rejoice that the Lamb is worthy, and that His life is my life. I rest in Your complete provision and walk forward in the grace You have already given.
Scripture References for the Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture Section
Colossians 3:1-4, Colossians 3:2-3, Romans 6:4-11, Romans 6:13, Romans 8:9-11, Galatians 2:20, Galatians 5:24-25, John 15:4-5, Philippians 2:13, Ephesians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Hebrews 10:14, Romans 12:1, Revelation 5:12