Liberty to Be Transformed
Just as fog clears to reveal what was always present, so the Spirit reveals Christ in us as we behold Him with unveiled hearts.
Devotional Credit: Day by Day by Grace by Bob Hoekstra
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Grace invites us into a life of unveiled transformation—not one of pressure or performance, but of divine reflection and renewal. Bob Hoekstra reminds us that the liberty of the Spirit is not permission to remain as we are, but freedom to become who we truly are in Christ. When we come before God without pretense—no veils, no masks—we are free to behold His glory. And this beholding is not passive. It is the gateway through which the Spirit of the Lord transforms us from the inside out.
This transformation isn’t for the elite or the spiritual few—it’s for all who live under the new covenant of grace. The terms are simple: we cease striving in our own sufficiency and instead yield to God’s. In that surrender, the mirror of His Word reflects Christ into our souls. While creation and the church reveal glimpses of His glory, only the Scriptures present His image without distortion.
This is how the Spirit works—liberating us from self-effort and conforming us into the image of Jesus, one layer of glory at a time. Not through striving, but through beholding. Not by fixing ourselves, but by fixing our gaze on Christ. He transforms, as we trust.
✨ Journal Entry — Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
You are free, beloved—utterly free to draw near, to gaze upon Me without shame or striving. I have removed the veil, and in My presence there is no need to hide. As you behold Me, you are not merely admiring a distant glory—you are reflecting it. My Spirit dwells in you to conform you, not reform you. You are not being made into a better version of yourself, but into the likeness of Me.
Each time you turn to My Word with a heart at rest, I show you more of who I am—and in doing so, I reveal who you are in Me. You no longer need to reach for sufficiency in your flesh. It never satisfied, and it never will. I am your sufficiency. I am your transformation. You are being changed, moment by moment, in ways you cannot always see but will someday fully know.
This is not a race for the fastest or the strongest. It is a walk of beholding—steady, yielded, and Spirit-led. Keep looking upon Me, and you will see that I am forming My life in you, from one glory to another.
Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 3:5, 2 Corinthians 3:17–18, Psalm 19:1, Psalm 19:7, John 5:39, 2 Corinthians 4:11
🪞Real-Life Analogy
It’s like standing in front of a window covered with fog. You don’t need to scrub or polish yourself—you simply breathe, and the fog slowly clears. As the condensation lifts, what was always there begins to shine through clearly. In the same way, as you rest in the Spirit and behold Christ through the Word, the haze of self-effort fades and the image of Jesus emerges—layer by layer.
🙏 Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You that the veil has been lifted and I can gaze upon You without fear or shame. Thank You that I am not left to transform myself but am being changed by Your Spirit as I behold Your Son. I rest in the liberty You’ve given me—not to live for myself, but to live from the life of Christ within me. I rejoice that You are shaping me from glory to glory, and I trust that each moment of beholding is bringing forth more of Christ in me. Thank You for this miraculous, Spirit-led transformation.