Open the Blinds To His Reality
Open the blinds. Let the truth already shining in Jesus fill the room of your heart.
Devotional Credit: Immeasurably More by Ray Stedman
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Ray Stedman takes us into Romans 1:18 to 20 and shows why life caves in when we push God to the edges. The trouble behind our troubles is not simply bad behavior. It is godlessness, living as if God is not present or active. From that root, hurtful choices grow. When we disregard God, we suppress truth, and when truth is pressed down, darkness spreads in our thinking and our living.
Stedman also points out that God is not hiding. Truth is breaking out around us in what He has made. Creation keeps telling the same story. His eternal power and divine nature shine through the order, beauty, and sustenance of the world. This witness reaches every address on earth. No one is shut out from seeing that there is a Maker and Ruler who rightly claims our trust.
What turns life tragic is not a lack of light, but our refusal to receive it. God’s wrath is not a temper flare. It is His settled opposition to the ruin that comes from trading away His truth. When people live godless, they harm one another, and they injure their own souls. The consequences are real because the suppression of truth always bears bitter fruit.
Here is the good news. The same God who reveals Himself in creation reveals Himself fully in Jesus. The gospel opens eyes, frees hearts, and restores sanity. Stedman helps us see that the issue is not whether we can prove God, but whether we will stop pushing Him away and turn to the One who is already near. In Jesus, we move from suppressing the truth to walking in it, from restless striving to the steady rest of abiding life.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
My child, truth is not scarce. I am not distant. From the beginning I have made My power and nature plain in what I created. The heavens declare My glory. I give rain and seasons and daily provision as witnesses that I am kind and near. I formed all things by My Son, and in Him all things hold together.
When people set Me aside and live as if I am absent, their thoughts grow dark and their choices wound. This is why wrath is revealed against godlessness, for the suppression of truth destroys. But I have not left you in darkness. I have shone in your heart with the light of the knowledge of My glory in the face of Jesus. In Him you are a new creation. You have died with Him and you live to Me. Christ in you is your hope of glory.
Do not quench the light within. Walk in the truth you know. I renew your mind as you abide in My Son. I steady your steps as you present yourself to Me. I am patient and kind, not willing that any should perish. I lead you to repentance that brings life, not shame. Live today in the liberty of My Spirit. Keep your gaze on Jesus, the author and finisher of faith. I am with you, and I will express My life through you.
Scripture References: Romans 1:18 to 20; Psalm 19:1 to 4; Acts 14:17; Acts 17:24 to 27; Colossians 1:16 to 17; Hebrews 1:3; John 1:9; John 3:19 to 21; Ephesians 4:18; Romans 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9; 2 Corinthians 4:6; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:6 to 11; Colossians 1:27; Romans 12:1 to 2; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; Hebrews 12:2.
Real-Life Analogy
Picture a room with the blinds pulled tight at noon. The sun is blazing outside, but the room stays dim and chilly. Opening the blinds does not create the sun. It simply stops blocking what is already there. Suppressing the truth is like pinching those slats closed. Abiding is opening them and letting the light do what light does. In the same way, the Spirit of Jesus within you brings clarity and warmth as you stop pushing away what He is showing and allow Him to express His life through you.
A simple practice for today. Before you reply to a tense email, pause and whisper, Lord, I trust You to live Your life through me in this moment. I yield my words to You. Then answer with honesty and kindness, letting His life rise in you rather than forcing an outcome by willpower.
Prayer of Confidence
Lord, thank You that You have made truth plain in creation and even more clearly in Jesus. Thank You that in the gospel I have moved from darkness to light. I agree with You today. I will not press down Your truth. I rest in the life of Christ within me, and I trust You to express Your wisdom and love through my steps, my words, and my work.