Released To Belong
The old connection is gone, a new relationship is active.
Devotional Credit: Immeasurably More, Ray Stedman
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Paul’s picture in Romans 7 is tender and practical. He points to a woman whose first husband has died, and he explains that death changes everything about her relationship to the law. When the husband dies, the law no longer binds her to him. She is free to belong to another. That is the heart of today’s reading, not cold legislation, but a doorway into a new union with the risen Jesus.
Ray Stedman helps us see that the first husband is Adam, the old life we were all born into. We shared his name and his patterns, and we could not untangle ourselves from his rule. But at the cross, Jesus took our Adam story into His own body. In His death, the old marriage met its end. In His resurrection, a new marriage begins. We are released from the law’s claims, and we now belong to the One who was raised.
This is not theory to frame and hang on a wall. This is a change of household. A change of name. A change of source. The law cannot order our steps as a spouse anymore, and the flesh cannot claim headship over our days. We are joined to Jesus, and union with Him produces fruit for God from the inside out.
Thank you, Ray Stedman, for setting our gaze on the beauty of this union. Today, we do not try to do better under old vows. We rest in our living Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, and we walk as those who are finally and fully free to belong.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I have joined you to the risen Jesus. You died with Him, and the law that once stood over you no longer holds your story. I write My law within you, not on stone, but on your heart. I place you in the Son, and I place My Spirit in you, so that the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled as I lead you from within.
Abide in Me. Remain in the Son who loved you and gave Himself for you. Your old self was crucified with Him, so count this as true. Your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, you will appear with Him in glory. Until that day, walk in the newness that I provide. I supply what I command. I work in you to will and to do for My good pleasure.
You are not under law, you are under grace. You are new creation people in the Last Adam. I make you branches that share the life of the Vine. As you present yourself to Me as alive from the dead, I bear fruit that matches your new name. Shame has no ownership of you. Condemnation has no seat at your table. You are accepted in the Beloved, and you stand in grace.
So take My yoke and learn My ways as I lead. Set your mind on the things above where your life is kept safe in the Son. Yield to Me in the small moments, and I will express the life of Jesus through you, steady, genuine, and kind. I am faithful to finish what I began.
Real-Life Analogy
Think of changing your phone service. You port your number from the old carrier to a new one. The moment the switch is complete, the old company cannot bill you or throttle your data. Your number looks the same, but your network is entirely different. Every call now routes through a new source.
That is what belonging to Jesus is like. Your life looks like your life, but your connection is new. When an accusing thought or an old pattern tries to order you around, remember that the account changed hands. You can quietly yield and say, Lord, I rely on You to express Your life through me in this moment, even in this difficult reply. For example, if a sharp email lands in your inbox, the old carrier demands a snap defense or a sulk. Instead, pause, acknowledge your union with the Lord within, and respond as He leads with clear truth, gentle words, or even patient silence. The conversation will run on His network, not the flesh.
Prayer of Confidence
Lord, thank You that I died with Jesus and now belong to Him. Thank You that I stand in grace, free from condemnation, free from the old claims of the law. I praise You that the risen Jesus is my life, my name, and my home. Today, I present myself to You as alive from the dead. Bear Your fruit through me. Let my words, my choices, and my work flow from our union. I rejoice that what You begin, You complete, and I rest in Your faithful presence in me.
Scripture References for the Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture Section
Romans 7:1–6; Romans 6:2–14; Romans 5:2; Romans 8:1–4; Romans 14:17; Galatians 2:19–21; Galatians 5:24–25; 2 Corinthians 5:14–21; Ephesians 1:3–6; Ephesians 2:4–10; Philippians 2:12–13; Colossians 2:20–23; Colossians 3:1–4; John 15:1–5; Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 36:26–27; Hebrews 10:14; Titus 3:5–7; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 1 John 3:9