Seated With Jesus, Living From Above
Settled in your seat above, carrying heaven’s peace into today.
Devotional Credit: Abide Above, Miles Stanford
Photo Credit: Unsplash
We are not inching our way toward acceptance. We were reborn into it. Today’s Abide Above reading lifts our eyes to where new life started and still stands secure, in Jesus, seated with Him in the heavenly places. Miles Stanford reminds us that our worship and our walk do not begin on earth and try to climb up. They begin in Him above, then flow down into ordinary days.
So much of our inner strain comes from thinking there is still something left to do to qualify. The reading presses a gentle truth into that worry. The Blood of Jesus has opened the way. Our nearness to the Father is settled by His sacrifice, not by the temperature of our affections on any given morning.
From that settled place, we can finally exhale the hurry of self-improvement and grow as those already brought near. We are learning to live where we were born again, in Jesus, in the light, in favor that is better than life. Thank you, Miles, for pointing us back to the substance, the Lord Jesus Himself, rather than the circumstantials that distract us.
This is not escapism. It is the truest realism. In Jesus, we stand in grace, then step into the desert roads of each day with confidence. Boldness to enter the Holiest becomes boldness to love, to serve, to endure. Our location in Him is the wellspring of our living here.
Journal Entry - Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I set you with Jesus in the heavenly places. This is your birthplace and your address. I brought you near by the Blood of the Lamb. Do not measure your nearness by your shifting feelings. Measure it by the finished work of the Son and the word I have spoken.
You died with Jesus, and you were raised with Him. Your life is hidden with Christ in Me. From this place, I teach you to think the things above, not to escape the earth, but to carry heaven’s life into the earth. I gave you boldness to come. Come freely. Come often. Come now.
I have cleansed you. Walk in the light where I have placed you. When you sin, do not run from Me. Run to Me. The Blood speaks better things. I am forming Jesus in you. I renew your mind as you behold Him. I bear fruit through you. Your obedience does not leverage Me. It is My life expressed in you as you trust and yield.
You are a new creation. Old things have passed. New things have come. I have transferred you from darkness to the kingdom of My beloved Son. You belong. Your citizenship is in heaven, and your body is My temple. I dwell in you, and I work in you to will and to do My good pleasure. Set your heart where you are seated. Stand firm where you are sent.
Real-Life Analogy
Think of finding your assigned seat on a flight. Once you see your row and seat number, you stop hovering in the aisle. You place your bag overhead, sit down, buckle in, and settle. The boarding pass did not change during turbulence. Your seat remained yours.
In the same way, the Holy Spirit assures you that your place in Jesus is assigned and secure. You do not hover in spiritual aisles, hoping to earn a spot. You settle into the grace that is already yours, then travel through whatever the day brings. For example, when a tense meeting begins to heat up, do not scramble to manufacture patience. Quietly acknowledge your true seat in Jesus and yield. Say, Lord, I trust You to express Your patience and clarity through me right now as I listen and answer. Then respond from that settled place, letting Him speak with honesty and peace through you.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You that in Jesus I am already brought near. Thank You for the once-for-all Blood that opened the way, and for the living way that keeps me there. Today I rest in the place You have given, seated with Jesus, standing in grace, walking in the light. Holy Spirit, thank You for indwelling me. I receive Your wisdom, love, and courage as my present possession in Christ. Let the life of Jesus be seen through me in each ordinary moment. I rejoice that You are faithful to complete what You began.
Scripture References for the Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture Section
Ephesians 2:6. Hebrews 10:19-20. Romans 5:1-2. Colossians 3:1-3. Galatians 2:20. Romans 6:4-6. 1 John 1:7. Hebrews 9:12. Hebrews 10:14. John 14:20. John 17:22-23. 2 Corinthians 5:17. Philippians 3:20. Colossians 1:13. Romans 8:1. Romans 8:9-11. Philippians 2:13. Titus 3:5-7. 2 Corinthians 3:18. Ephesians 1:3-7. Romans 12:1-2.