Living From the Life of Christ Within
Just as light flows from connection to the source, so our life flows from Christ within.
Devotional Credit:
His Victorious Indwelling
Contributors: A. J. Gordon and Dwight L. Moody
Photo Credit:
Unsplash
Today’s devotional compiled by Nick Harrison redirects our attention from striving for life to living from the life we already possess in Christ. Rather than trying to conform our fleshly lives to some moral ideal, we are called to embrace the actual life that is hidden with Christ in God. The devotional highlights that this new life is not something we chase, but something we already have. It is not an unreachable standard, but a present reality into which we are invited to walk, rest, and rejoice.
A. J. Gordon poetically urges us to lift our hearts heavenward, because our life is now in Jesus. He challenges us not to cling to the grave clothes of the crucified old man, those earthly affections and sin patterns that no longer define us, but to breathe the freshness of resurrection life in real-time fellowship with Jesus. Our spiritual trajectory is not earthbound; it ascends with the risen Christ.
Dwight Moody reinforces this truth with disarming simplicity. Before his conversion, he worked toward the Cross. After his conversion, he worked from the Cross. The shift is subtle but seismic: from striving to trusting, from earning to expressing, from hoping for salvation to joyfully laboring because salvation is already his.
All three perspectives combine to invite us into a deeper rest in the reality of Christ’s finished work. We are to live not for life, but from life. Not toward victory, but from the Victor Himself.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
You are not working to earn your place with Me. You are working because I have already given you Mine. You were crucified with Me, and now it is no longer you who live, but I live in you. The life you now live in your body, you live by faith in Me, the One who gave Himself for you.
Fix your eyes on the things above, for your life is hidden with Me in God. You have already been raised with Me. You are seated with Me in the heavenly places, and I am your very life. Why would you labor to construct what I have already completed? Why chase what you already possess?
Let your heart be where I am, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Do not carry the moldy garments of your past; I have clothed you in My righteousness. As you abide in Me, your love is kindled again and again by My presence, your joy made full, and your labor light.
The fruit of your life is not born from strain, but from surrender. Let My Spirit draw you upward, not by pressure, but by peace. You are already Mine. Walk with Me in white. Let your mind dwell in resurrection light, not grave shadows. What I have begun in you, I will complete.
Scripture References: Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:1–4, Ephesians 2:6, Philippians 1:6, John 15:5, Romans 6:1–14, Matthew 6:21, Revelation 3:5
Real-Life Analogy
Picture turning on a lamp in a dark room. You don’t twist the bulb tighter or rearrange the wiring. You simply flip the switch, and the power that’s already flowing produces light. That’s your life in Jesus. You’re not trying to generate light. You're yielding to the power source within. The light doesn’t come from your effort; it comes from connection.
So today, when you face tasks, pressures, or people that stir up old ways of striving or insecurity, pause. You don’t have to “do better.” You can simply say, “Lord, I trust You to live Your life through me in this moment.” Whether it’s a conversation with a loved one, a moment of quiet temptation, or an overwhelming workload, trust His indwelling life to be your sufficiency, not your own grit.
Prayer of Confidence
Lord, thank You that I no longer work for acceptance, but from it. You have finished the work, and I rest in You. I praise You that I am not striving to reach You, but that I have already been placed in You. Thank You for placing Your life in me as my source of all things. As I move through this day, I affirm that Your life is my life. I am hidden with You in God, and I delight in drawing from Your fullness. I trust You to express Yourself in me and through me in all I do today.