Lifted Above, Carried Within
Carried above the rush, steady in the Spirit’s keeping.
Devotional Credit: Days of Heaven on Earth, A. B. Simpson
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Some days have weight. Circumstances stack up, emotions run hot and cold, and opinions tug from every direction. A. B. Simpson reminds us that Jesus does not always remove the storm, He raises us above it. That is not denial. It is a truer view of reality in Him, where the Holy Spirit steadies us from the inside while life keeps happening on the outside. I am grateful for Simpson’s simple picture of being lifted, not by our grip, but by His life in us.
The point is not to become untouchable, it is to become anchored. We are joined to the risen Jesus. We share His life, so we share His steadiness. He is not asking us to fake calm or suppress honest sorrow. He is showing us how union with Him makes us free in the middle of it. The Father does not always remove sickness or trouble, but He seats us with His Son above the swirl, where peace holds and love keeps working.
This is not about climbing a ladder of performance. It is about receiving the life we already possess in Christ. New creation life is not a slogan. It is the Spirit’s present reality in our human moments, in traffic, in waiting rooms, in conversations that could go sideways. The same Jesus who walked through storms without panic now lives in you. He is not far. He is your very life.
So we learn to say yes to the One within. Yielded, not strained. Dependent, not defeated. Today, as Simpson’s words echo, let us thank God that the creation itself is moving toward freedom, and we, His children, already share the firstfruits of that freedom in the Spirit. He is faithful to carry what we cannot, and to carry us while He carries it.
Journal Entry - Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I am with you, and I am in you. I set your mind on life and peace, because you belong to the Son who was raised. You are not under the rule of the flesh, for the law of the Spirit of life in Jesus has made you free. I join your weakness with My sufficiency. I do not deny your pain, I lift you within it. I bear witness that you are a child of God, and if a child, then an heir with the Anointed One who suffered and now reigns.
I have seated you with Him. From there, you look on the same circumstances with a new horizon. Your outer person may tire, but your inner person is renewed. I teach your heart to agree with Me, to set affections on things above, to put on compassion, kindness, humility, and patience that are already yours in the Beloved. I work in you to will and to do the Father’s good pleasure, and I bring forth the fruit that proves abiding is real.
When opinions press and moods shift, I steady you. I pour the love of God into your heart. I guard your heart and your thoughts with the peace that surpasses understanding. I help you bear with others and forgive as you have been forgiven. Christ in you is the hope of glory, not in theory, but now, in this conversation, this decision, this waiting.
So set your mind on the Spirit. Present yourself to Me as one alive from the dead. Reckon yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Jesus. Walk by Me, and you will not fulfill the pull of the flesh. I will cause you to abound in hope, I will strengthen you with power in your inner being, and I will make the life of Jesus plain in your mortal body. I am faithful to finish what I began.
Real-Life Analogy
Think of riding in a city tram that glides on rails above street traffic. Cars below start and stop, horns sound, and intersections clog. Up in the tram, the movement is steady. You did not fix the traffic. You were carried above it by something stronger than your own effort. Life often looks like the street, stop and go, unpredictable. The risen Jesus is the tram that carries you. His Spirit does not ask you to clear every intersection. He draws you into His steady motion, so you travel through the same city with a different center.
Try this in a real moment today. If a tense email arrives or a discouraging symptom flares, pause the reaction and yield the moment. Say, Lord, I entrust this exact situation to You, live Your life in me and express Your patience and clarity through me right now. Then answer the email with simplicity and kindness, or take the next wise step for your body with peace, trusting the Spirit of Jesus to be the strength and calm within you.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You that I am united with Your Son and indwelt by Your Spirit. Thank You that I have already been raised with Jesus, that I am no longer under the rule of the flesh, and that Your peace guards my heart and thoughts. I affirm that Your love is poured out in my heart, that Your joy is available in every circumstance, and that Your grace is sufficient for the moment in front of me. I receive the life of Jesus as my life. I rest in Your faithful working within me, and I thank You that You will express the character of Jesus through me today.
Scripture References for the Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture Section
Romans 8:1-6, Romans 8:9-11, Romans 8:14-18, Romans 8:21, Romans 8:23-25, Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:4-11, Colossians 3:1-4, Colossians 3:12-15, Ephesians 2:4-7, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Philippians 2:12-13, Galatians 5:16-25, Romans 5:5, Philippians 4:6-7, Colossians 1:27, Romans 8:2, Ephesians 3:16-19, 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, Jude 24-25